The Champion
by mjimeyg
Summary: After Halloween, Xander's world grows increasingly as he meets new people and drags the Scoobies along for the ride.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Will crossover with Roosterteeth RvB and the Halo universe, Dogma, Jack Ryan 'verse and Stargate.

Spoilers for BtVS Halloween Ep onwards and Stargate Season 2 onwards.

Also includes spoilers for most of RvB.

Warning: Timelines are altered so that episodes line up with each other. Don't expect the year episode 2x12 of SG to be the same. There is enough vagueness in both shows that years are not mentioned merely alluded to. So I am shuffling them to fit in MY timeline... which is why we call it FANFICTION.

Although this story was originally posted on and ttfh this is an edited, rewritten and added to version.

* * *

Xander Harris, friend and best bud of two totally hot babes and bane of existence to another hot babe. Xander considered himself pretty damned lucky to have such an existence.

Then he was attacked by a vampire.

Xander reconsidered his definition of 'lucky'.

Ok, so the vampire attack was 'unlucky', but he managed a decent dusting.

The lucky part was the wad of cash the vamp had dropped, about a grand all said and done. Not an unusual occurrence. Vampires stripped their victims of items of value and sometimes in a fight those things would fall out, God bless gravity.

Then came school.

Snyder had drafted the Scoobies as trick or treat chaperones.

Xander again reconsidered his definition of 'lucky'.

But he now had money for a decent costume… and he saw the one in that new shop, 'Ethan's'. He WAS going to have that one.

Larry decided to make some less than polite comments about Buffy and Snyder decided that Xander deserved detention for it. Apparently jocks don't do detention.

Xander considered he might need a new dictionary to establish the _true_ definition of 'lucky'.

He knew he wouldn't have time to get to Ethan's and get his costume, so he turned to Buffy and Willow who he knew were going.

"The one that says 'Halo', its HUGE and green, you can't miss it. Here's the money."

"Were did you get this money?" Willow demanded, she knew his parents barely fed him, his costumes were usually homemade.

"Vamp decided I looked tasty, I dusted him, he dropped the cash." Xander shrugged.

"I thought we agreed you weren't to go hunting alone!" Buffy admonished.

"Who was hunting?" Xander said defensively. "I was walking home and he came after me. Do you really think that all those vamp victims got that way 'cause they were hunting 'em?"

"I suppose, just be careful." Buffy allowed.

"I go to school on a Hellmouth… 'careful' in this town is an oxymoron."

"When did you get with the big words!" Buffy teased.

"Heard Giles use it the other day and looked it up." Xander admitted sheepishly. "Look, can you just pick up the costume and bring it back here to the library before the kiddie herding?"

"Sure, go have fun in detention." Buffy told him as they headed off.

"It's grey." Xander noted.

"Yeah, what's your point?" Buffy asked confused.

"It's not green."

"Xander, I think that was covered by the 'It's grey' comment you made." Willow smirked.

"Yes Willow, but I said the 'huge and green one'… not the 'huge and grey one'." Xander slumped in the chair at the library table and stared dejectedly at the 'not green' costume lying on the table.

"This was the only one with 'Halo' by it." Buffy defended.

Xander sighed.

"I suppose I can't blame you for that then… at least its still a quality costume."

"Looks pretty cool to me, bet even Larry will be jealous." Buffy said trying to cheer him up.

It was chaos, pure chaos.

He seemed to be on Earth, North American continent.

No one answered his command radio frequencies, and the local authorities kept telling him to clear the channel.

And then there were the monsters running around.

Ugly little critters the size of Grunts and bigger ones the size of Elites.

Fortunately he hadn't come across anything of Brute size.

"Ok, is this Hell?" Came a voice from inside his helmet.

"Church? Is that you?" He asked the disembodied voice.

"Yeah Wash, it's me." Was the response as an ethereal white image of a soldier in similar armour to his own appeared next to him.

"I thought you were in the Meta." Wash said.

"I was, he was so nuts that it wasn't really him in there, pretty much all the AI's were holding him up." Church explained. "We heard you hit the emp button and hightailed back to you."

"It's E – M – P!" Wash said in exasperation. "And what do you mean 'we'?"

Church laughed nervously. "Well, when the rest of the AI's thought I was the Alpha, did you really think they were gonna let me leave without them?"

"Church," Wash growled suspiciously, "just how many AI's did you drag into my head?"

"I dunno, haven't had time for a head count." Church shrugged. "I know Delta, Gary and O'Mally are in there."

"Gamma and Omega?" Wash asked shocked. "Those two are practically evil!"

"Yeah, tell me about it… I had to spend 1000 years listening to Gary's knock jokes."

"Knock, Knock Church." Said a synthetic voice.

"Shut up Gary!" Church groaned.

"Alright, enough!" Wash shouted. "We'll deal with this later. Right now we have to figure out our situation. Have you been paying attention to what I've done so far?"

"Yeah, O'Mally and Gary said they'll watch the comm. lines, Delta says he is picking up a weird set of energy readings from nearby and another set from further away." Church informed him.

"Fine, we'll head to the smaller reading first and then to the larger one. It might be an outpost of some kind." Wash decided as he checked his HUD map. "And why do I have a map of this place in my helmet?"

"Some guy named Sigma hacked the Internet and satellites, says he has all the information on this place and free access to some really hot porn sites."

"Sigma? That sex crazed lunatic! Tell him to focus on finding out more about this town… and I don't mean the location of the nearest strip joints." Wash complained.

"It's a costume shop." Church stated disbelievingly.

"That doesn't matter. At the moment all I care about is the energy readings coming from inside _the costume shop_." Wash declared.

"Fine, what's the plan? Go in and kill everything that moves? Use your megaphone thing and demand their surrender? Lob a couple of grenades through the window?" Church asked.

"Oh, go for the first one, I like that one!" Came the diabolical tones of O'Mally.

"Shut up Omega." Wash snapped at the tyrannical AI. "I was thinking we might try the doorbell."

Church sighed. "Fine, lets do things your way."

30 seconds later…

"So, you wanna try knocking or…" Church asked as Wash walked through the glass door. "Ok, this is good too."

"Hello?" Wash called out. "Anybody here?"

"Yes, can I help you?" Ethan asked as he came out from the back room, still dressed in ceremonial robes. "Or maybe you can help me as you seem to have destroyed my store front."

"Yeah, we did ring the bell but there was no answer." Wash responded. "I'm kinda lost and can't get in contact with my command, my readings indicate an energy source from this building. Do you know anything about that?"

"Yes, the source of my spell is out back, it's probably what has brought you here. Figured I'd have some fun, it being Halloween and all." Ethan didn't bother lying, the spell was soon to finish and sometimes truth was the best way to bring about chaos.

"Spell? As in magic?" Wash asked incredulously. "There's no such thing."

"Oh, I assure you there is… in this world, magic, demons, ghosts –"

"AHA!" Cried Church as he formed next to Wash. "I told you I was a ghost!"

"Oh my, aren't you an unlucky one, haunted by a personal ghost." Ethan chuckled.

"He is NOT a ghost! He's an AI, just like the rest of his friends stuck in my head." Wash argued. "If I don't get them back to command and out of my head soon they'll drive me nuts."

"No problem Wash, the guys already said they'd stay dormant till their needed. No reason for you to go postal." Church assured him.

"Trust me, that's not the only way you lot drive me nuts." Wash said pointedly.

Church just grumbled quietly about ungrateful Freelancers.

"Look, sir," Wash said turning back to Ethan, "do you know how I can get back in contact with the UNSC Command HQ?"

"Well – " Ethan began but stopped as Wash suddenly bought his weapon to bear on the shop door.

"There is an incoming entity, moving slowly." Wash said quietly.

Giles carefully stepped over the threshold and remains of the broken door. Willow had frantically run through his library wall babbling about everything. He eventually got the story out of her, which led him here, to a shop with his old friends name and a broken storefront door.

"Xander? Is that you?" He asked the armoured figure as he recognised the costume from the library.

"Sorry sir, names Agent Washington, UNSC Freelancer." He informed him.

"Ethan, I knew it was you, this madness has your style and fingerprints all over it." Giles snarled ignoring the Spartan as he spotted the culprit.

"Really? What gave me away? Was it my name over the shop?" He asked flippantly.

"Sirs please, I really need to get in contact with my superiors." Wash pleaded.

"Ethan, end the spell or I'll make you end it." Giles threatened.

"Fine, bust is in the back, just go and break it. I had my fun after all." Ethan sighed.

As Giles marched out back Ethan quietly began casting an enchantment on the oblivious armoured figure. 'That ought to keep dear Ripper busy.' He thought to himself as he quietly exited the building as a blinding light flashed from the back room and Wash staggered.

"There, now Ethan-" Giles began as he exited the back room.

"Giles? That you?" Xander asked.

"Xander? Thank goodness your back." Giles exclaimed. "It would appear that slimy weasel has run off. Never mind, lets get back to the library where the girls are."

"Erm, Giles… I think I have a problem." Xander said worriedly. "I can't figure out how to get my helmet off and I can still see the HUD on this thing."

"HUD?"

"Heads Up Display, basically means lots of information like a computer screen. This wasn't here when I put the suit on at the library." Xander explained.

"I have released the locking mechanism on the helmet and you should now be able to remove it." Came a calm disembodied voice.

"Giles…?"

"I heard it too lad… hello? Who's there?"

"I am Delta, one of the AI's currently contained in the implants of this armour's bearer."

"Huh?" Was Xander's eloquent reply.

"He said we're the ones stuck inside you head." Church said as he appeared before them.

"Oh My Lord." Giles exclaimed as Xander pulled the helmet off and the vacuum seals released with a hiss.

Giles and Xander made their way back to the Library. They were largely unnoticed due to the chaos left over from the night's activities.

As they made their way down the school corridors Giles noticed that despite the obvious size, weight and composition of Xander's new armour, it was surprisingly stealthy as the only footfalls heard were his.

They entered the library to find Willow, Angel, Cordelia and Buffy sitting around the table.

Buffy appeared disgusted at something and was staring at the wig that came with her costume as if it was going to attack her.

Willow kept checking her pulse and tapping the table.

Cordelia was ranting away about the injustices of being associated with the group.

And Angel was looking rather lost as he glanced between the three.

"Xander!" Came the squeal of relief as Willow rushed to hug her best friend. "OW!" Came the cry as she smacked into Xander's armoured chest.

"Ah, careful Wills this thing is pretty tough." He warned.

"Xander where were you?" Buffy asked worriedly. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah Buff, my 'possessor' got caught up in an argument with… someone. Wound up meeting Giles at the costume shop."

"Erm, Xander, that's not the costume we got at the shop." Willow noticed.

"What, no one else's costumes stayed real?"

There was a general shaking of heads.

"I saw a couple of Stormtroopers, gladiators and a Gandalf and their costumes and props had reverted to normal." Angel informed them. "Yours is the only one not to revert."

"I wonder what happened." Willow murmured.

"I believe I have a theory as to what happened." Delta said as he projected himself onto the table.

"GHOST!" Screamed Cordelia as she backed away, Buffy began searching for weapons.

"STOP!" Shouted Giles freezing everyone. "It's just Delta, part of Xander's… armour.

"Actually I am an AI, an Artificial Intelligence Unit." Delta commented.

"That is sooo cool!" Willow exclaimed. "Like Cortana!"

"Delta, what is the theory you had?" Giles asked.

"Prior to the ending of the 'spell', whilst Agent Washington was in control of Xander, the armours recording sensors noticed that the costume shop proprietor was making various hand gestures and speaking quietly whilst Mr. Giles was destroying the bust." He reported.

"Giles was destroying breasts?" Buffy asked in confusion.

"A bust Buffy," Giles sighed in exasperation, "a statue of a head and shoulders." He said gesturing on himself.

"Ohhhh… oh." She gave an embarrassed and sheepish grin.

Giles pinched the bridge of his nose; it had been a long night.

"Delta, can you display or replay the events? Without sound though… we don't need inadvertent spells being cast." He asked.

"Of course, if Xander would place his helmet on the table I will begin replay."

The group crowded round the table. There was a gasp as the 3D holographic images were displayed showing clearly what Ethan was up to. There was also a very quiet remark by Buffy at one point of "Ohhhh… a bust." At which point she turned beet red.

"Well, that explains it, Ethan altered the spell on you specifically, probably just as a way to get at me." Giles looked at Xander apologetically. "I'm sorry Xander, I never would have wished this on you. I'm afraid I can't reverse the spell, the magic is far too powerful. We will try and help you adjust."

"Thanks Giles." Xander said. "There is one VERY important thing though." He said seriously.

They all leaned forward expectantly.

"Can we please get this armour off, I really need to pee!"

Twenty minutes later with some heavy lifting assistance from Angel and Buffy and directions from Delta, Xander was hot-footing it to the toilets.

Thirty seconds later sounds of ecstasy were heard echoing down the hall.

Xander returned to the library to the sound of snickering and several smirks.

"I make no apologies… that was a very… relieving experience." Xander punned as the rest groaned.

"You are aware that the Moljinar armour has a built in sanitation system?" Delta queried from the centre of the table where he was projected.

"Huh?" Xander eloquently asked.

"I believe he's saying that you could have relieved yourself in your suit." Giles supplied.

"Huh?" Buffy responded.

"He said I can poop in ma' suit." Xander grinned as Buffy's face twisted in disgust.

"Moving swiftly on from this disturbing topic…" Giles interrupted. "We were discussing the best place to hide your armour and for you to use it." He told Xander. "Delta has informed us that it is genetically encoded to you, so only you can use it."

"Well that sucks, Buff could use the extra protection when out at night." Xander pouted.

Buffy blushed at Xander's concern for her well-being. But over the past year she had realised that Xander always put Willow, Giles and her safety first. He always had a spare stake for her in his back pocket with a packet of aspirin and a bandage. He carried anything he could in his pockets to help so long as he had room for a Twinkie or two.

"Thanks Xander, but I know you were just to kind to point out I'd never fit." She said with a grin.

"Damn!" Xander said theatrically. "How could I miss that opening!"

Buffy responded by throwing her wig at him.

"Anyway, I believe we should store it at my house for now." Giles said. "It is advanced technology and I don't trust the security here at the school."

"If that is the case I suggest that you remove the storage slate from the back of the armour's helmet as it will enable us to aid you without the armour." Delta suggested.

After a minute or so of checking Xander and Willow were able to locate and detach the AI storage slate.

"I believe it would be best if we went out into the desert for you to train in your armour Xander. If anyone were to see you in it, it could cause complications and questions." Giles said. "I believe we should consider you and your armour a weapon of last resort for when a slayer and stake may not be enough."

There was a general consensus of agreement around the room.

"How are we gonna hide the fact that Xander is… buff?" Willow asked.

"He's me?" Buffy asked rather dumbly.

"I believe she means that he his rather muscular now, compared to his usual sleight frame." Giles said.

"Oh, yeah. You are built pretty well now… huh, never noticed that you're a whole lot taller!" Buffy said in horror. "I am gonna have such a sore neck!" She wailed.

"I am?" Xander asked looking at himself.

"Spartan recruits are required to undergo various enhancements to their bodies in order to use the MJOLNIR armour." Delta explained. "Xander is now stronger than the average human, his bone density is vastly increased and he has various implants to allow him to connect to the armour… or transport an AI in his head."

Xander started frantically checking his limbs and legs.

"The implants are sub-cu – under the skin, they work via non-wired technologies this prevents damage and the need for cleaning." Delta assured him, dumbing it down as it was obvious that he wouldn't understand the science or words with more than three syllables.

"But I've still got a computer in my brain?" Xander asked fearfully.

"Yes."

"_Nobody_ is to scan books into the computers!" Xander said fearing another Moloch incident.

"He's gonna need new clothes." Cordelia commented.

Everyone turned to stare at Xander again.

At over 6ft tall and standing in a set of gym shorts and t-shirt he had nicked when he hit the head, it was obvious that whilst not necessarily the tallest in the school, he would stand out.

Cordelia sighed and rolled her eyes. "Meet me here tomorrow and we'll sort out a new wardrobe. I refuse to let you damage my eyes with those things you call clothes. Hopefully we can pick things that will make your height less noticeable."

"Erm, thanks?"

"Very well, it has been a very long night, so if Buffy and Xander could help me get the armour secured at my home, and Angel if you could see Willow and Miss Chase safely home, I believe we should all get some rest and meet tomorrow afternoon after Xander and Cordelia's shopping trip." Giles declared as he rose.

And with that the meeting ended, Willow and Buffy giving Cordelia's new dress up doll pitying looks.


	2. Chapter 2

Xander awoke from a sleep filled with memories of the Covenant Wars and the role Wash had played.

The horrors he had seen as his fellow soldiers were cut down as the Covenant attempted to wipe humanity from the face of the universe.

Wash had joined the war towards the end as the Elite's had joined forces with the humans and realised the lies the Prophets had told them.

He dreamt of Wash's time in the Freelancer program.

Of Epsilon, Wash's AI who held the memories of the torture that had been inflicted on The Alpha, which Wash shared, and now Xander did too. Epsilon had essentially committed suicide in Wash's head as it succumbed to the inevitable madness. The human mind could only take so much and The Alpha was based on just that, the human mind.

He dreamt of Wash's recovery and subsequent mission to track down the Meta, recruiting Caboose and Church, and finally confronting the Director, the Counsellor and the Meta.

As he dreamt of the flash as the EMP device was activated he awoke and the memories of Wash's adventures in Sunnydale the previous night returned.

He could remember Wash's life vividly, everything good. Everything bad. It might have well as been his life.

"Church? You there?" He called out gently.

"Yeah, I'm here." He replied as he faded into view.

"Guess you got left behind too, huh?" Xander noted unnecessarily as he got ready for his morning rituals.

"Yeah, I suppose I won't be able to find out what happened to Tex." He muttered sadly.

"I'm sorry." Xander consoled. "But hey, if memory serves, Sigma found free porn." He said hoping to lift his spirits.

"Yeah, gotta love that." Church admitted with a grudging sigh.

"Just don't tell the girls, no telling what they'll do to us." Xander warned.

Xander and Cordelia left the school grounds for the mall in Cordelia's red convertible.

"So… why are you doing this?" Xander asked hesitantly.

"Because I em_can/em_ do this." She said. "I may not be a fighter, or a crack researcher, but I can shop and I know fashion. So whilst I will smash things over a vampire and stare at mouldy old books to try and help, it's not what I am good at, this is what I can do to help save the world… in my own way."

Xander thought about that for a few seconds.

"I like it." He said finally. "I did the same thing with snack food runs and jokes. Guess my contribution to the fight is gonna be a bit more direct now though."

Eventually they pulled up to the mall and Cordelia turned to face Xander.

"I know your poor, so I'll pay for everything. Just make sure you don't tell anyone… I _do_ have a reputation to maintain." She said showing she still didn't care or know about tact.

Xander just stared as the Queen of Sunnydale swiftly got out of the car.

"Huh, who'd of thought? Cordelia Chase has a heart." He muttered.

The Scoobies assembled at Giles' apartment later that afternoon. Xander was sporting a stylish yet casual outfit that Cordelia had purchased.

Willow brought her laptop to see if Delta could use it.

A brief introduction was made of Church and then they began to discuss the previous nights activities and what was left over.

It turned out that Delta could use the laptop as a direct portal into the Internet. Something that brought back bad flashes of Malcolm.

"We are unable to disobey direct orders from the Alpha or Xander, who is a ranking officer in the UNSC, as far as we are concerned. When Wash was sent back to where ever we came from, all authorisation and security codes were passed on to the bearer of the MJOLNIR armour: Xander." Delta assured them. "All the AI's stored in the helmet could exist solely on the Internet. Unlike Church who can exist outside of a suit."

"O'Mally can do that too." Church pointed out.

"No, O'Mally can take over a person via the helmets interface and Spartan brain interface. He still needs a suit or computer to operate." Delta corrected.

"I still don't like the idea of all you guys being out there in the Internet. What if we can't get to you?" Xander said.

"I recommend you keep one of us on the storage slate, we are all capable of finding each other, it is also better to have one of us on hand when you use the armour." Delta recommended.

"Yeah, Wash thought that was better too. Didn't have an AI but still thought they were useful." Xander recalled.

"Very well, but we will need to get Xander a computer as he needs to have access to the Internet to control them." Giles said. "We will also arrange some time this week to go out to the desert and get you some training." He told Xander. "Now, let's talk about the rest of you, anyone else experiencing lingering effects from last night."

It was a week or so later that Giles' received four packages.

He was quite perturbed as to who had sent him four brand new laptops. Being the weekend he called Buffy and had her bring Xander and Willow over whilst he checked with his credit card company, bank and the laptop company to make sure he wasn't a victim of some ridiculous fraud scheme.

The truth was something else.

"Xander, how did you manage to afford these laptops, and why were they sent to me?" He pointedly asked the young man who was happily ensconced between the two girls.

"Wasn't me G-Man, I can barely afford lunch." Xander scoffed.

"Actually it was us." Delta said as he appeared on the coffee table at a foot high and glowing green.

"How exactly did you achieve this?" Giles asked. "I thought you needed the laptops to get on the Internet in the first place."

"No, we can access the Internet and any directly or indirectly wirelessly connected system via the armour's helmet. The laptop was in order for Xander to communicate with us without needing to continuously wear the helmet." Delta explained. "We accessed Xander's account and invested his money on the stock exchange."

"My road trip fund!" Xander cried distraught. Delta ignored him.

"By successfully predicting the stock movements we managed to increase the amount to four million dollars."

There was a shocked silence.

"Screw the road trip… world cruise anyone?" Xander grinned. Which earned him to excited looks from Willow and Buffy and a glare from Giles.

"That is where we got the funds from." Delta pointedly ignored the human's reactions. "We had them delivered here as the first set was never passed into Xander's care, despite a signature being received on delivery."

"You were robbed?" Buffy cried in outrage.

Willow and Xander just blushed slightly and said nothing. Seemingly very ashamed.

"I take it your parents might have intercepted the delivery?" Giles asked as carefully as he could.

"No. They stole them and sold them." Xander scowled. "Sorry Delta." He said feeling guilty for his parent's actions.

"It does not bother me a great deal, the money is yours in the first place. I am concerned, they should be reported for their criminal activities." Delta said.

"NO!" Xander cried shooting from the couch.

"Easy Xander, its ok." Willow soothed the distraught teenager as she guided him back down to the couch. "If you report them, Xander might wind up in foster care. Away from us. We're everything to him." Willow explained as she hugged her longest friend.

Neither Giles nor Buffy liked this. Giles specifically did not like the implications he was getting from what was em_not/em_ being said. He resolved to investigate but not act. For now.

"We will ignore it for now, let's deal with these packages and then we can head out to the desert as planned." Giles decided.

The laptops were dealt with by Willow.

Willow used Giles' as a demonstration and dumbed it down a bit so he didn't have to worry about messing it up.

She also agreed to come over and set up Buffy's later. Which was really an excuse to have a girly night talking about boys.

Delta informed Willow that he would handle Xander's laptop, as he would also be using it to create new programs.

Church had asked Delta if he could download some free movies for him. Delta had told him he could do it himself by downloading himself into the Internet.

"I AM NOT AN AI!" He screamed. "I AM A FRIKKIN' GHOST!"

Before Delta could argue back, Willow intervened.

"We had a demon once that got downloaded onto the Net. It was called Moloch. Maybe you could… you know… haunt the Internet. They always talk about the ghost in the machines anyway." She said.

Church seemed to think about that for a moment.

"Might work, I can get in people's heads, how hard would a computer be?" He considered.

Xander breathed a sigh of relief. He knew from Wash's memories how upset Church got over being told he was the Alpha. Church had a heavy case of denial.

Shortly after this they headed out to the desert with Xander's armour loaded in back.

Once suited up, they started by performing the simplest of tests. They had Xander run, jump, lift things and threw things at him.

Just to make sure it was strong armour.

Well, that was Buffy's story and she was sticking to it.

After checking the ammunition supplies they found that Xander had a full compliment for his Battle Rifle and side arm.

He also had 3 frag grenades, 3 spike grenades, 3 plasma grenades and 3 incendiary grenades.

Delta informed them that he would begin investigating recreating the ammunition and grenades.

The next tests involved investigating the equipment the AI's had purloined from the Meta when they had followed Church back into Wash's armour.

The invisibility cloak was great, as long as you didn't try and do anything like fire a weapon. It automatically deactivated. Delta promised to have O'Mally look into that.

The invincibility overshield worked as advertised. For all of 30 seconds.

The bubble shield was wonderful. Right up to the point that someone walked through and punched you on the nose. It did however keep out bullets and crossbows. Unfortunately, it also kept them in.

Gary's teleportation device seemed to have some flaws in it.

It didn't work.

Gary then went on to assure Church that it would em_not/em_ take a 1000 years to build this time.

Giles refused point blank to allow them to test the time travel device. He did not want to have to deal with fixing that mess. Xander told him it could also freeze time for him, Giles was still against using it.

Giles declared it a true weapon of last resort. And closed the matter.

This brought them to the end of the day. They loaded the armour into the boot of Giles' beat up Citroën and began the journey home.

The car broke down a mile out of town.

The axels snapped and the engine fell out.

Rather than wait for roadside services and a tow truck… and the inevitable verbal bashing of his beloved classic car by whatever grease monkey came out, they helped Xander suit up and sent him into to town with the invisibility on in order to avoid detection. They told Xander to wait at Giles' as he now had the only key.

Buffy and Giles pushed the car off the road and cleared out Giles' belongings before heading down the road with Willow.

The next day they went car shopping with Giles. The three teenagers stating there was no way they were going to let him get another 'classic'.

Giles was horrified when Xander dragged him over to the SUV's, but as Xander pointed out, he needed something that could withstand the weight of his armour and various weapons.

Nonetheless, Giles spent the entire day accusing them of trying to Americanize him.

The following day was a Monday, and Buffy received the wonderful surprise of a fellow Hemry High Alumni.

Xander took great pleasure in little jabs and jibes at Ford about what he knew and didn't know about Buffy. As well as the weird confrontation between Ford and Angel.

It all came to a halt when Delta pointed out that William Ford was not registered anywhere in Sunnydale, but was listed as on sick leave from Hemry.

"Why are you checking him out?" Buffy asked. "Xander, did you set them up to this?" She demanded suspiciously.

Xander looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He was saved by Delta.

"Actually its standard operating procedure. Whenever a new person or entity is encountered they are checked out to ensure the integrity of the base or mission. There are anomalies in your own past I need to discuss with you. Xander asked me not to tell him unless you give permission for me to."

"So… you know something about my past… you think it affects the mission?" Buffy checked.

"That is correct. If you take me into the office we could discuss this privately and you could decide if you wish me to divulge it." Delta offered.

"We'll do it later today. Did anyone else appear to pose a threat, or is not who they seem?"

"Mr. Giles has an interesting history. Ms. Calendar is not who she claims to be and Principal Snyder is paid a monthly sum by the Mayor… why, we could not tell." Delta said.

"Fess up Giles!" Xander said grinning. "Your actually a double-o agent."

"Xander do try and be serious at times… or come up with better jokes." Giles said cleaning his glasses. "Suffice to say I was somewhat rebellious in my youth. I have a bit of a history with Scotland Yard."

"'A bit' is quite an understatement." Delta noted.

"A discussion for another time as I don't really see how it affects us at the moment." Giles argued.

"It will need to be dealt with it can be used against you to deport you." Delta objected.

Giles just nodded resignedly. "Later, as with Buffy's issues."

"What's the deal with Ms. Calendar?" Willow asked.

"Her real name is Janna Kalderash. She is Romany and of the same tribe that is said to have cursed Angelus."

"You think she's here for Angel?" Giles asked.

"Unknown. The Kalderash are said to have performed the curse as an act of vengeance, in retaliation for killing one of their tribe."

"Maybe we should just ask her." Willow said, drawing incredulous stares. "Look, either she is a threat to us and the Hellmouth and we need to deal with her, or she's a potential ally. Either way we need to find out which she is and prepare accordingly."

"She already knows about the Hellmouth, the Slayer and the supernatural, its not like we would be revealing anything other than the fact that we know who she really is." Giles considered. "Delta, how did you find out about Angel and the curse?" Giles asked suspiciously.

"Various individuals have uploaded reports and books on to the Internet. It is merely a matter of finding this information. I recommend we do the same to speed up research."

"Another topic to discuss later." Giles said quickly as the three teenagers paled.

"Ok, so we'll confront her after we deal with Ford." Xander said. "Delta, you said he was on sick leave, what's he sick with?"

"Terminal brain cancer."

Buffy gasped in shock. Her friend was dying. An insidious mass of tumours were destroying his brain. And there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't stake it, behead it. Her much vaunted physical strength was useless against it. It had no fear of the slayer.

"I don't suppose you have any spells of healing that might work?" Xander asked Giles, seeing the pain on Buffy's face as Willow hugged her firmly.

"I'm afraid not." Giles stated firmly. "Healing spells do not exist for humans. It merely takes the life force of one person for another. The most we could do is offer a spell that will relieve the symptoms. Make his last days less painful."

"Up to you Buff." Xander said as Buffy dried her eyes.

"If I might suggest that you wait until we can be sure of the reasons for his being here and his obvious deceptions." Delta said.

"I agree. We have time, so we will see what else we can learn." Giles decided. "Take the night off from patrolling and spend it with your friend."

Unfortunately Ford proved himself to be set on becoming a vampire. Willing to sacrifice an innocent friend, an exchange of someone else's life for his eternal life.

Despite knowing it was a trap, Buffy went to the Sunset Club and offered Ford the magical help that Giles had mentioned. He wanted nothing less than eternal life, and he refused to listen to Buffy as she tried to explain how being a vampire would not give it to him.

Fortunately Xander and Giles had tailed her to the club and were able open the door for Buffy to escape before Spike and his rabble arrived.

Ford got his wish regardless. Buffy and Giles waited the night for Ford to rise, staking him as he rose from his grave.

A few days later and Delta brought up the issue of certain individual's pasts.

Buffy, having checked with Delta gave the short statement of:

"I burnt down the gym, told my mom and dad about vampires and they stuck me in an insane asylum for a while."

Everyone knew that she didn't want to talk about it, but Giles assured her that it wouldn't have happened if Merrick had been alive and Buffy hadn't slipped through the cracks. He promised to set up a fall back system in the event that something should happen to him.

Buffy refused to comment, but seemed to take some solace in Giles' efforts.

Giles himself refused to go into too much detail about his past, but did explain that he rebelled against his father's wishes to be a watcher and dabbled in the black arts.

The Scoobies had a hard time believing that.

They also confronted Jenny Calendar. Who had little choice but to admit that she was there to keep an eye on Angel and make sure he still had the curse.

Buffy was very annoyed about being spied on. But Jenny pointed out that she was spying on Angel, it wasn't her fault if Buffy spent time with him.

Jenny also took the opportunity to berate the young slayer for being involved with an undead demon that was about 230 odd years older than her.

Willow had posed the question, about why they needed to check he still had the curse. Did this mean he could lose his soul?

Jenny admitted she didn't know and hadn't thought about it. She promised to contact the clan and find out.

Giles warned Buffy to avoid too much contact with Angel until Jenny had an answer.

Which Xander privately doubted she would listen too.

For now Ms Calendar would not be privy to Xander's new upgrades. Not until she had proven herself. The information on Angel's curse would be a good start.

Xander had spent most of the week thinking about Buffy having to stake Ford. Not the emotional side but the practical side.

If you know a vampire is in the grave, why wait for it to rise? What about before they rise, or setting traps.

Xander discussed this with Delta, who brought Omega and Gamma in to consult.

What they came up with was a design for a ground penetrating spike that could be fired from rifle like weapon. Built in radar would allow for precise positioning.

The plan was for Xander to assemble the weapon with instruction from Omega who would take control of Xander when necessary. Church promised to keep an eye on him to make sure he behaved.

Right now, Xander was waiting across the street from the coffee shop for his target to arrive. Church and the other AI's had tracked the target and made note of its habits.

Every morning before work Jeff Brown would sit down with a coffee and paper before heading in. This was also one of the busier times for the shop, which made it easier for Xander to stroll across, order his coffee and approach the target.

"Mind if I sit here?" Xander asked. "Not much space."

"Sure thing." Jeff responded amiably.

Xander settled down, nursing his coffee. "So, do they pay you to ignore the vampire victims, or do you just not know what to do about them?"

Xander was going for honesty. Or absolute bluntness.

Jeff Brown was the chief coroner for Sunnydale. All those barbeque victims passed through his table. To have this kid come and confront him openly about it was a shock.

"Let me guess, you work for a school newspaper and you are looking for your big break?" He asked avoiding the question.

"Hell no! I want this kept as quiet as possible." Xander defended. "No, I am someone who works at night to try and eliminate this problem. To try and cut down on the number of bodies that land on your table."

"Hmm, I heard tales that there were hunters in the town." Jeff mused. "Little young aren't you?"

"I wound up staking the closest thing I had to a brother. I intend to make sure no one has to go through that." Xander said stonily. "Besides, I don't see anyone else doing anything about it."

"True." Jeff conceded. "The fact is, the authorities are aware of the problem. It's just that no one has told us what to do about it, and I wouldn't know where to start. I have had several come back to life on my table or in the storage draws. I have to keep a stake on hand and call security to help."

"If I could give you a solution, would you be interested?" Xander asked.

"Sure, provided I don't have to go out and hunt them. I'm not a hunter. But I would definitely like to see less innocent victims on my tables." Jeff agreed.

Xander placed a small tin cylinder on the table.

Jeff looked at the tin, then reached for it. He unscrewed the top and looked inside.

"Toothpicks?" He asked incredulously.

"I know someone who used a number 2 pencil. I figure that if you slide one in before you send them off for burial, when they rise they'll dust." Xander explained. "Do it when they come in and you won't have to worry about being attacked."

"This is…" Jeff was stunned.

"Ridiculous?"

"Ingenious!" Jeff exclaimed. "It's so simple but so effective, makes me wonder why no one thought of it before."

"Yeah, me too, which is why I suggest you do it covertly." Xander suggested. "Just in case someone higher up the food chain is involved in keeping the vamp population up."

"Good point." He frowned realising the validity of the statement. "Who are you anyway?"

"Xander Harris." He said as he stood. "If you need to find me I am usually in the Sunnydale High Library. Or a grave yard."

Jeff nodded as the kid walked away in the direction of the school. This could very well save his life.

"Church, make sure the other AI's keep an eye on him, make sure he actually uses them and make sure no one makes trouble for him." Xander requested as he knew the former soldier was invisible beside him.

"Sure thing. I'll tell a couple of them to keep a permanent watch on the authorities, there's more than enough of them. Are you sure it was smart to tell him who you are?"

"It's not too hard to find out. He already knew I was in school. This way he has less reason to be suspicious about the 'mysterious stranger'. Which was what pissed me off about Angel."

"Yeah, I hate cryptic. I mean, 'Memory is the key'? What kind of crap is that?" Church groused.

Xander approached the funeral home after school. Using the pretext of paying respects to Jesse as his cover.

He found a similar situation. This time he also managed to convince them to offer discounts on cremations. It wasn't a hard sell considering the rapidly dwindling available gravesites.

Xander did this without telling Giles or the others. Generally he wasn't known for making ingenious suggestions, and more often than not they merely humoured him. He didn't blame them. He always used to be the joker and it would take time before they began to realise he had serious ideas.

Xander's ability to focus seemed to have improved since Halloween. His test marks were always quite reasonable, but his school work was poor. Willow suggested once that he had Attention Deficit Disorder. His parents laughed and went back to drinking.

Now though, Xander's grades were sky-rocketing from dismal D's to respectable B's. Willow was thrilled.

Within a week Buffy was bored. It seemed Jeff had been working away and none of the vamps that were due to rise did.

Giles could only assume that the victims were drained and not turned. They only had the news reports in the papers to go by so they had no proof that they were turned.

Although Xander's school grades improved, his computer grades did not. Xander had Wash's knowledge of computing. It was 500 years ahead of its time. He was improving but found it slow as he insisted on building a computer capable of running UNSC software.

To Xander, 20th century computers where about advanced as a slab of rock. Giles agreed to let the young teenager use his spare room to build the computer. Especially as Delta and the AI's were now paying for his flat.

He was a bit peeved that Church spent most of his time at his apartment. The reluctant AI was quite profane, but otherwise un-intrusive. He seemed to have found the RoosterTeeth website and was constantly watching the Red Vs Blue series.

He couldn't see what was so funny about it. He remembered it was really annoying living in Blood Gultch with Tucker and Caboose. He did find the red team hilarious though. As the series went on and he kept watching he realised more and more that maybe Wash was right. Maybe he was The Alpha.

He was pissed to find out that Tucker seemed to already know.

He kept waiting for the next episode to arrive so he could see if he would learn more.


	3. Chapter 3

Xander's troubles with modern day computers meant that he was forced to attend Ms Calendar's Saturday classes. This was pretty much sacrilegious as far as he was concerned. Saturday's were for sleeping in, watching cartoons and eating snacks.

Plus Xander was planning on testing his new anti-vamp weapon. The Coffin Staker, as he called it.

He'd spent the previous night being lead on a wild goose chase by Delta and the AI's for the second energy signature Wash had found. He was pretty pissed when he realised they were talking about the Hellmouth. Needless to say he stomped off to bed promising he'd explain it all later… or have Giles do it.

The class failed to begin as Buffy came in worried about Giles and his very anti-Giles behaviour. He had missed a blood delivery at the hospital leaving Buffy to fend for herself.

Cordelia then decided to mention in passing that the police had made a visit to Giles in the library the previous day.

"Maybe I should, erm, go consult my friends, see if they know anything?" Xander suggested.

"You only have two friends dweeb, and they are both here and clearly know nothing." Cordelia sniped.

"Good idea Xander, why don't you go and contact them?" Willow said quickly, heading off the on coming snark-fest.

Xander jogged down to the library for some privacy.

"Delta, you got any idea what's going on with Giles and the cops?" He asked as he walked through the doors. He tended to keep the AI in his head these days as his input was invaluable.

"Coroner and police records show that a man named Philip Henry was found dead two nights ago and Rupert Giles' name was found in his possession. He was questioned as a person of interest and asked to identify the body. The file has been closed, marked as another victim of gang members on PCP." Delta informed him.

"Guess I better call Jeff and make sure it was our beloved PCP freaks and not something else." Xander mused.

"I would suggest you deal with the intruder hiding in the stacks by the rear entrance first." Delta suggested.

Xander went on alert immediately. He drew his combat knife which he had decided to carry whenever possible, it was daylight so he figured it wasn't a vamp.

Creeping through the stacks Xander picked up a random book and threw it at the opposite side of the room and quickly snuck up behind the interloper placing his knife at their throat.

"Hello Ethan. Thought you weren't supposed to be back here. Ever!" Xander growled tightening his grip.

"What can I say…" Ethan began to wise comment but stopped as Xander pushed the knife harder.

"I really don't have time for your witty banter, so why don't you just come and take a seat whilst we call Buffy and Giles." Xander said pushing him to the library table.

"Church? You here?" Xander called out.

"Church is currently at Mr Giles' apartment." Delta informed him.

"Ok, get a message to him, to get Giles here, give him a sit-rep. Then go get Buffy and the others." Xander ordered.

"This will compromise our covert cover." Delta pointed out.

"I know, but I'm not taking my eyes off this monster." Xander agreed. "Just get them, we can deal with the fallout later."

"Ah yes, the young man who had all those little friends with his costume that would drive him mad." Ethan smirked. "How's that working out for you?"

"Ethan, your little stunt has made me strong enough to rip you in half. You also turned me into a soldier… so I have no problem ripping you in half if I think you're a big enough threat. And finally…" Xander said getting in the English mans face "You gave me the memories of a man who had a being commit suicide in his head. So I am very eager to rip you in half… do you really think you should be taunting me?"

Ethan saw that the boy was not bluffing.

He decided silence was a good virtue to exhibit at the moment.

"G-Man's on his way." Church said as he appeared in the library. "Hey! This is the guy who trapped me here!" Church said as he recognised Ethan.

"Yeah, once Giles gets here we can have some fun getting him to talk." Xander grinned evilly.

"Why don't we just lock him in a room with Gary and O'Mally?" Church suggested having been frequently annoyed by Gamma's frequent knock jokes and Omega's maniacal rantings.

"Don't really think it would be fair to them to inflict this guy on them." Xander considered.

"Xander, what's the big idea sending Delta out in public?" Buffy asked as the computer group ran in.

"Didn't want to take my eyes off this loser." Xander said. "Now that you're here I need to make a phone call. Oh and Giles is on the way."

"Who are you calling?" Willow asked.

"Just a friend, still need to find out if that Philip Henry guy was turned." Xander said as he went into the office.

It didn't take long for Jeff to answer his phone.

"Should I even ask how you got my personal cell number?" Jeff asked.

"Probably not." Xander admitted. "Look, there was a guy brought in yesterday, Philip Henry, Mr Rupert Giles a British guy identified the body. Was he turned?"

"No, there were no teeth marks, just a weird tattoo on his inner arm. But kid, the body is gone, it attacked one of my workers." Jeff told him.

"Damn, look, I'll do some research and try and find out what's going on. I'll let you know what I find." Xander said hanging up without letting him respond.

"Xander I am detecting something approaching down the corridor, based on its speed I would say it is not Mr. Giles, I would imagine Mr. Giles to be in a rush not moving slowly." Delta informed him as he exited the office.

"Ok, you and Church hide, we'll stash Ethan in the office." Xander said.

"I'll get the rope." Buffy said heading for the book cage.

"Really? Are you sure I can't just-" Ethan began only to be cut off by a forceful shove by Xander.

"Shut up or I'll shut you up." He growled.

Buffy returned and began tying up Ethan, she was just finishing when Willow called out.

"Eh, Buffy? I think you need to deal with this guy!" She called out uncertainly.

With a quick look to Xander she rushed off. Xander finished tying up Ethan.

"Aren't you going to help her?" Ethan asked smugly.

"Yes." Xander answered curtly and delivered a sharp strike to the back of the head rendering him unconscious. "Church, keep an eye on him." He called out knowing the Alpha would be near by.

"Sure thing Xan." Came the disembodied response.

Xander rushed into the library to see Miss Calendar on the floor unconscious and a creepy dead zombie like guy fall to the floor.

Who then turned into a puddle of blue goo.

Xander watched and suddenly realised that it was going to reach Miss Calendar. He dove forward sliding on the ground and managed to knock Miss Calendar's out stretched hand away.

Only he miss-judged his leap and slid into the book cage head first. Knocking him soundly out and sliding into the goo himself.

"Ouch." Remarked Willow as they all winced.

"What was he trying to do? Attack the puddle of slime?" Cordelia asked someone disbelievingly.

"I think he was trying to get Miss Calendar away from it." Willow suggested.

"What's going on? Where's Ethan?" Giles demanded as he burst into the library.

Then he noticed Jenny on the floor.

And then Xander behind them.

"What happened?" Giles asked the three girls as he knelt down next to Jenny.

"Xander caught Ethan. Weird zombie guy turns up. Knocks out Miss Calendar. Turns to blue goo. Xander dives at Miss Calendar and knocks himself out and lands in the goo." Buffy summarized.

"Why would Xander –"

"We think he was trying to get Miss Calendar away from the goo before it touched her." Willow answered the obvious question.

"Quick thinking on Xander's part then." Giles mused. "And Ethan?"

"We tied him up in your office." Buffy said.

"Oh god, he's good at escaping!" Giles cried as he rushed for the office. Stumbling as he reached the door. "You knocked him out?"

"Huh? No, just tied him up. Well Xander was with him last, maybe he did it." Buffy mused.

"I'll have to talk to him about that. Its dangerous to do without training." Giles noted with a frown.

"You mean like military training?" Willow asked pointedly.

"Indeed." Giles nodded tersely. "Ah, yes I see, you mean his Spartan training." He smiled sheepishly.

At this point Xander began to shudder and shake. Willow quickly grabbed Jenny by the arms and began dragging her away as Buffy and Giles jumped on Xander to restrain him lest he hurt himself.

"What's happening?" Willow cried as her best friend convulsed.

"I don-" Giles stopped as Xander's face began to morph, a growl emitted from his throat.

Suddenly he was roaring.

Then he was laughing. Somewhat manically. It was hauntingly familiar. It made Buffy release him and jump back in shock.

"The hyena!" She whispered in fear.

"But we exorcised it!" Willow argued.

"Don't worry." Said a clear female voice behind them. "It's not really the hyena, but it is primal."

Buffy spun round to see a young woman, probably of college age, standing behind them. She had tanned skin, brown eyes, long thick black hair and wore a simple white blouse and long brown skirt. She was slightly taller than Buffy, but still shorter than Cordelia.

"Who are you and what's wrong with Xander?" Buffy demanded.

"Xander is currently fighting off Eyghon, the demon trying to possess him." The woman explained. "He should be finished soon. As for who I am, well, I'll explain when Xander wakes up. Lets just say I'm a friend for now."

This reminded Buffy of her first encounter with Angel, but she still wasn't very trusting of new people.

"Well maybe we don't want a friend." She said somewhat lamely, realising that it didn't have quite the same punch as when she'd said it to Angel.

"Which means you're not my friend, but I'll still be yours." The woman said with a smile.

Xander suddenly slumped still.

"Oh good, he won. You can wake him now." She said as she sat at the library table.

They looked at her incredulously. Giles eventually shook Xander gently, calling his name to rouse him.

Xander blearily opened his eyes and then shot up in fear.

"Please tell me that was just a concussion induced nightmare!" He begged Giles.

"Nope, you have the primal in you and you defeated a very powerful possession." The newcomer stated with a grin.

"Damn." Xander muttered as he backed into the book cage and started to close the door.

"Xander, what are you doing?" Buffy asked.

"If the Primal's in me then after what happened last time, its probably safer for everyone if I stay in here."

"Silly man." The woman said as she strode over to the book cage and dragged Xander to the table, she waved a hand clearing the goop off him. "The Primal is in you, not controlling you. It's just a houseguest." She assured them. "Come on, sit down. You have questions and I have a request to make of Xander."

She waited for them to sit down. Jenny having been roused by an impatient Cordelia was still looking somewhat bewildered.

"Who's the new girl?" She asked.

"See, told you there'd be questions!" She whispered theatrically to Xander, who couldn't help but snort in amusement.

"I am Gaia." She declared imperiously.

They all just stared at her.

"Come on, you know, Gaia!" She said impatiently. "Goddess of the earth? Ring any bells?" She asked.

Giles cleared his throat. "We know about Gaia, are you claiming to be her?"

Gaia rolled her eyes. "Yes Giles, I am claiming to be her… why? Because I am her!" She nearly screeched in exasperation.

"You know our names?" Willow asked in shock.

Gaia gave her a look that could be best described as 'My god I thought you were smart.'

"I'm a god, I know a lot of things."

"Can you prove it?" Buffy asked.

"What could I possibly do to prove I am Gaia, a goddess?" She asked disbelievingly.

This caused them to stop and think for a bit.

"Oh! I know, make a plant grow!" Willow squeaked excitedly.

"Any user of earth magic can do that." She said as she made a potted plant in the corner start to flourish. "And you had better take better care of your plants mister! That ficus was thirsty." She admonished Giles.

"How about making it rain?" Buffy asked.

"Again, not something limited to deities." She said causing a small rain cloud to appear over Buffy's head with a smirk. "Still want me to make it rain?" She asked with a saccharine sweet smile.

"Please don't!" Buffy squeaked. And the cloud vanished.

"Is there a way you know of that you can prove you are who you say you are?" Jenny asked.

"Yes, but I'm not going to. You are just going to have to trust me." She said seriously.

"You haven't given us a reason to trust you." Buffy said suspiciously.

"You're not wet." She pointed out with a smirk. "Ok, look trusting me is the same as the trust you put in all these books. You don't know the people who wrote them, most of them you don't even know _who_ wrote them! But you trust them. The fact of the matter is that I am Gaia, known as the goddess of the Earth, and I am here to ask Xander something."

"Me?" Xander asked.

"Yes, you. I have been watching you ever since the Almighty pointed you out to me as a possible candidate." She said very seriously.

"Erm, by 'The Almighty' you mean…?" Willow asked leadingly.

"God, The Creator, The Great I Am, Jehovah… and a host of other names." She said, still seriously.

"You know God?" Cordelia asked, she clearly didn't believe that.

"She is my boss!" Gaia declared snarkily.

"She?" Jenny asked with a smirk.

"It's her favourite form, how do you explain me." She grinned cheekily.

"Aren't there any male gods?" Willow asked.

"Oh yes, Hade's for instance takes care of the afterlife and those who enter it. He's a guy."

"Not to sound self-centred, but can we get back to this candidate business… before I develop a stress aneurysm?" Xander asked.

"Oh yes, sorry Xander. I would like you to be my Champion." She stated simply.

"When you say Champion… are we talking knights in armour and jousting? Cause I have armour but I don't think the horse could carry it." Xander asked confused.

"No, you would be you… with some upgrades, but you would be my Champion, a defender for nature and humanity, everything under my domain." She explained. "Buffy is the Champion of the Powers That Be, she is the defender of their domain and ideals."

"I am?" Buffy asked in awe.

"That is a commonly held belief." Giles confirmed. He still wasn't sure about this 'Gaia', he knew about the legends of Gaia throughout the various cultures, but the gods, or Powers, rarely interfered with the mortal realm so directly. "Perhaps a little background as to the reasoning to your request."

"Aw, you want a story?" She asked as if he was a two year old.

"Yes, and some bloody milk and cookies whilst you're at." He mumbled belligerently, he wasn't a fan of being mocked, Xander was bad enough.

"Ok." She said as a glass of milk and cookies appeared before them all. Xander looked and just started digging in.

"Why is my milk red?" Giles asked.

"You did request 'bloody milk'." She reminded him.

"Never tick off a goddess Giles." Xander admonished.

"You believe me then?" She asked with a small smile.

"Actually I was talking about your beauty, but yeah, I believe you." He grinned shamelessly.

"I can't believe you turned _this_ down Buffy!" She said gesturing to Xander. "Thank you." She said and kissed his cheek making him blush.

"Ok, Xander has improved my mood, so you can have a hot chocolate as I know you like them Giles." She said as the milk changed colour.

"On with the story." She declared. "The story Giles told you is true, about the world being older than you know. But so is the basic creation story of seven days. Only, they were seven heavenly days, and time travels differently between Heaven and Earth.

"By the end of the fifth day the world was a paradise. And I was happily having fun with my new domain. But Lucifer had begun his campaign against God to take over heaven.

"By the sixth day God created man, and Lucifer was thrown to the earth. God and I placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, to protect them. Lucifer was waging war in my domain!" Gaia said angrily.

"God created various mythical creatures… and the dinosaurs. They fought Lucifer's armies. But they did so over millions of years, Eden's time ran differently and Adam and Eve knew nothing of what happened outside the garden.

"Eventually the war ended and Lucifer's armies were sent back to hell. But Lucifer himself snuck into the garden and… well, you know that story.

"Eve gets a lot of flak still for that screw up. I mean, only two other people ever spoke to her, Adam and God… and she listens to a freaking lizard!" Gaia ranted.

"I thought it was a snake?" Cordelia asked.

"No, God made him into a snake because of the deception. Now Lucifer is bound in Hell, but that hasn't stopped him from sending his armies to my domain." She explained.

"Anyway, bottom line, some of the fallen angels who followed Lucifer repented, but as punishment they were stripped of their status and made to fight and defend my domain and hold back the demonic forces. They became the Powers that Be. I have no idea who came up with that name!

"I have never had a Champion before, but things are changing, and Xander here comes with exceptional recommendations, I wouldn't even consider having a Champion if She hadn't suggested it."

"Ok, couple of questions." Xander said.

"Shoot!"

"Why me specifically, I haven't done much, I try and watch Buffy's back, and the armour will come in useful sure, but I'm not much good for anything other than bait… and even then the vamps prefer girls, even the female vamps!" Xander stated.

"It's not your physical prowess that makes you stand out, which incidentally has drastically improved since Halloween. It's your actions despite your physical abilities, your unwillingness to lay down and die… or more to the point, let other's die." She said with a pointed look at Buffy.

"Have to agree on that one, if you hadn't agreed to go with Angel into the Master's lair, I'd be one dead duck." Buffy agreed firmly.

Gaia on the other hand just snorted in a manner that was far from feminine.

"Xander didn't agree to anything, he practically had to drag Angel kicking and screaming down there!"

"What!" Buffy cried disbelievingly. "That's rubbish, Angel said that he grabbed Xander in case he needed a human to help. Which he did as he couldn't give me CPR." Buffy defended her boyfriend.

Then she saw the look on Xander's face.

"It's true right?" Buffy asked begging him to say so with her eyes.

"Weeeell… " Xander began slowly. "I would say kicking and screaming was an exaggeration-"

"You had to threaten him with a stake and a cross!" Gaia argued.

"Ok, yeah. But… aw hell, leave me out of this. I don't mind you thinking I was just the help, but it really worries me that he told so many blatant lies instead of just leaving you to wonder." Xander said as he slumped in his chair.

"Xander, what did Angel say when you suggested CPR?" Gaia asked.

"Something about he couldn't do it because he had no breath." Xander groused unhappily, there was far too much attention on him and he had no jokes to deflect it with.

"Buffy, what nasty human habit does Spike have?" She prodded the Slayer.

"He's British?" She asked in confusion, causing Giles to splutter in indignation.

"I was talking about the little thing he sticks in his mouth and sets on fire."

"Oh, he smokes." She said in realisation.

"And in order to smoke, you have to be able to do what?"

"Breathe." Willow said quietly. "He lied, but why?"

"Lied about what?" Buffy asked.

"Buffy, if a vampire can breathe to smoke, or even talk for that matter, then why not blow out a candle? Or breathe life into someone." Willow explained in earnest. "Breathing is an instinctual action, we can stop breathing by holding our breath, not like a heartbeat which we have no control over."

"Angel is not what you think he is Buffy." Gaia warned her. "He is a demon, he has a soul yes, but he is still a demon. The soul lets him know the difference between right and wrong and more control over _not_ doing evil. But he still has free will and a choice to actually _be_ evil."

Gaia allowed them a few moments to digest her words.

"That's not the only reason I chose Xander." Gaia said quietly. "He is one of the few people to actively fight the vampires."

"I fight them!" Buffy declared indignantly.

"Yes, after they have been turned and crawled out of their graves."

"Oh god." Xander groaned. "Can't we just leave that one out of it?" He whispered to Gaia.

"No." She replied simply. "Xander has developed a method and strategy for preventing vampires from even rising. Show them." She prodded Xander in the side.

Xander reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic cylinder. He sullenly rolled them across the table to Buffy.

Buffy looked at the pot and peered inside.

"Mini stakes?" She asked dumbly.

Gaia and Xander stared her in open-mouthed disbelief as Cordelia and Willow peered over her shoulder.

"God you need a life Buffy if the first thing you think of when you see toothpicks is 'mini-stakes'." Cordelia lamented.

Giles began to clean his glasses, thinking along the similar lines.

"How does a toothpick constitute an active approach to fighting vampires?" Miss Calendar asked. "Death by dentistry?"

This brought a collective shudder from the group.

"Xander approached the local coroner and suggested that inserting these into the hearts of vampire victims would decrease the number of bodies he has to deal with." Gaia explained. "I know you've noticed a decrease in vampire activity."

"I thought they were just avoiding the Hellmouth as I was here." Buffy shrugged.

"Wow, egotistical much?" Cordelia remarked.

Buffy shrank uncomfortably back into her seat.

"I must say, it was very irresponsible of you to approach an outsider like that. There is no telling what they could do with that information." Giles said sternly.

Xander looked somewhat resigned. "Now you know why I didn't want to tell them." He muttered quietly to Gaia.

Unfortunately Slayer hearing picked it up.

"If you knew it was a bad idea we wouldn't agree with why do it?" Buffy asked disappointedly.

"You seem to think he hadn't thought this through. That he doesn't have the memories of a soldier who went on to become a highly trained operative." Gaia said disgustedly. "That he doesn't have a host of military and espionage orientated Artificial Intelligence units at his beck and call that can advise him.

"Most importantly you think that he is too dumb to realise to do something like this and know the correct way to do it." Gaia paused as they looked somewhat shamefaced.

"How about the fact that he is developing a weapon that can fire a stake into a coffin for any missed graves?"

"Why not wait for them to climb out of the ground?" Buffy asked.

"You mean spend all night sitting on some poor souls head stone waiting for a vampire who may or may not climb his way out of his grave? Whilst with Xander's weapon you could stake the vamp and go off and patrol and possibly save someone's life instead?"

Once again Buffy shrank back into her seat.

She was wishing it was slightly more cushioned.

"Now, tell them about your next idea and we'll get back to you being my Champion." Gaia instructed.

Xander scowled at Gaia, who merely arched a feminine eyebrow at him.

"Fine, I was going to find a decent and hopefully morally good ER doctor who could come work for us and patch us up and any victims we come across. We've all had our share of scrapes and breaks so having some medical help seemed like a good plan. Always thought it was pretty dumb that Slayers don't have a personal Watcher _and_ a doctor at all times."

"Yes, Mr. Giles, one day you might want to explain that one too." Gaia said sadly. But quickly continued to forestall any comments and questions. "So Xander, anymore questions?"

"What would my duties be?" Xander asked, he wanted to know if he would be taken away from the Hellmouth.

"Pretty much, do what you have been doing. Every now and again I will have a specific mission for you, you might need to deal with a purely human matter, or even an animal or other nature related incident.

"But ideally you are to ensure that Lucifer doesn't manage to get his armies through that gate!" She said pointing at the Hellmouth.

They all turned and looked at the Hellmouth… and unconsciously backed away slightly.

"The devil is on the other side of that thing?" Buffy asked.

"It is the mouth of Hell." Gaia pointed out.

"Yeah, but I thought it was to some random hell." She argued.

"Why would people worry about opening a portal to 'some random hell'? Honestly we wouldn't have to worry about it so much if this town wasn't here. The town makes it easy for the vamps to get around and blend in, the other demons can also hide and access the Hellmouth.

"Thanks to you and the Master every vampire and demon knows about the Hellmouth and that it is possible to try and open it."

"ME?" Buffy squealed indignantly.

"Yes, you!" Gaia reposted. "You being here has just sent out a beacon to the demonic world like advertising free access to Disney World."

"Why don't I just leave then?" Buffy said indignantly.

"Like hell you will!" Gaia declared. "You started this mess, you can make sure to clean it up! Luckily for you Xander will still be here to keep things in check."

"I will?" Xander asked as Buffy fumed.

"Even if you don't accept my offer as Champion are you really going to leave the Hellmouth?" She asked.

Xander thought about this and then shrugged in acceptance of the fact.

"What makes the dweeb so perfect then?" Cordelia asked with her usual tact and grace.

"Oh he's far from perfect. He is just as stubborn as Buffy, but still willing to admit he is wrong, he also tends to be a bit reckless at times and tends to lead with his heart too often. Not bad things, but not good without some tempering. He is also committed to vengeance for Jesse, nothing wrong with that on the whole. But it can be unhealthy." Gaia said with a pointed look at Jenny. "But he is young, and has time to learn."

"Hey! I'm young, I have time to learn." Buffy defended.

"Yes, but your dating a corpse. That makes young and stupid. Not to mention creepy!" Gaia returned.

"It's not his body I care about it's him." She declared righteously.

"I really doubt that, but, lets just remind ourselves about him. He's a demon living in a corpse who can't decide which side of the line he's on and he's a coward and liar to boot."

Buffy opened her mouth a few times and then decided silence was a new virtue.

Gaia noted this and turned back to Xander.

"So, anymore questions?"

"Yeah, one last one. What will this mean to me – personally? Will I still be human? Will enemies mark me as a target? That sort of thing."

"You will be human. But you will begin a journey of ascendance. Technically you can be killed, but I intend to make sure you are very hard to kill.

"Enemies will come after you, but unless Lucifer gets through that gate, there won't be anything you can't eventually handle.

"You will start off with a set amount of abilities and if you use them well enough then you will find most enemies relatively easy to deal with. But you will need to work on mastering them.

"As new types of enemies and situations arise I will unlock more abilities." Gaia finished.

"Sounds like you are saying I won't die of old age?" He queried.

"Nope, you will outlive most people. But I will always be around and will help you make sure you're never alone. And no, this offer is only available to you." She answered knowing how his mind worked.

"The dufus gets eternal youth and life and the rest of us get old and wrinkly?" Cordelia asked in disbelief. "Talk about there being no justice in the world!"

"Well, maybe just for that I won't let him teach you how to ascend!" Gaia said snobbishly.

"I take it back!" Cordelia cried in horror. "Xander is the perfect choice!"

Gaia just snickered whilst Giles tried not to laugh.

"Ok, I accept your offer to become your Champion." Xander said quietly. "Like you said I won't leave the Hellmouth, so anything that makes me an asset to keep my friends alive is a big plus in my book."

"Xander I believe the goddess has already pointed out that you have already proven yourself an asset many times in the past." Giles reminded him quietly. Jenny nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

"Glad to see some of you have been paying attention." Gaia smiled softly.

"What about you Willow?" Gaia asked. "You've been pretty quiet, what's your opinion?"

Willow looked up with a sad smile on her face.

"You were right about him being stubborn. He would never give up the fight, he would just go off and do it alone.

"He has a distinct habit of avenging people if he can't defend them, something that Jesse and I both knew about him.

"They were like a couple of TV heroes, one was the ladies man, Jesse, and the other was the… the… knight in shining armour, Xander." She said quietly.

"This way he gets to keep doing what he does best, and I don't have to worry about him getting hurt so much.

"So, I don't say that I think he should accept. I say that if he doesn't I will kick his butt!" She finished firmly. Despite the blush that appeared at the use of the word 'butt'.

"But why the sad look Wills?" Xander asked.

"Sad that you'll have to stay on earth for a long time, and that you might never reach heaven to be with the rest of us.

"Something you forgot to mention, right Gaia." Willow said with a pointed look.

Gaia smiled sheepishly. "Sort of, he might not attain the eternal rest that the rest of you can one day, but he will eventually, learn to travel between the realms.

"I just don't tend to think of it as a bad thing as I've been around since time began, and I'm not sad. Gets a little lonely sometimes, but then I just go find my friends.

"Xander will be able to do the same." She said with a smile for Willow.

"So, how do we do this? Is there some ritual? Candles, chanting, the whole nine yards?" Xander asked as he shifted nervously.

"Actually I just did it, if you want you can do the chanting, how about a ritual dance?" Gaia said with a straight face.

"You did it already?" Xander asked in disbelief.

"As soon as you said you'd do it, I did it." She smiled. "I'm a goddess Xander, only demons want those mindless rituals. In fact, if something involves a ritual and chanting it's probably demon related. They don't need them, they want them."

"So what do I do now?" He asked somewhat dazed, he was now the Champion of a goddess.

"Same as you've been doing, just practice. The Primal Spirit is not gone, it has been infused with you, you are now the Alpha Primal. You need to get used to your new strength and speed, oh and this." Gaia suddenly turned into a huge female lion and roared in Xander's ear.

Who promptly turned into a yapping Yorkshire terrier who backed away yapping and growling but refusing to turn tail and run in the face of a predator.

"What did you do to him!" Buffy demanded reaching for her stake as Gaia returned to her human form.

"Me? I just scared him." She said as she picked the dog up and placed it on the table. "This is one of your new abilities Xander, you can change into any animal, be it fish, mammal, reptile, bird, insect or even extinct animals." She said as she stroked the dog calming it. "Now you just have to want to turn back."

Xander just looked at her and whined with big soulful puppy eyes.

"Don't sell yourself short!" She admonished. "We've been over this, you are quite smart and very capable. Now, will yourself back to your regular human form."

Dog-Xander suddenly had a look of great concentration and stress on its puppy face, this caused the others to back off slightly… just in case. The forces of darkness were one thing, this was… something else.

Suddenly Xander was sitting on the table.

No flash, no noise, no morphing of parts. One minute he's a dog, next a human.

"Huh, cool." Xander muttered. "But how will I use this as your Champion?"

"Xander, if you can figure out how to quell vampire numbers with toothpicks, you can figure this one out." Gaia said with a roll of her eyes. "Just practice different forms a lot. And learn about all the animals you can. You never know when a tracking dog will come in useful, how about sensing body heat like a snake?"

"I can use animal abilities in my human form?" Xander asked.

"Eventually, once you've mastered changing and figured it out for yourself." She told him.

"Ok, I am going to head off now. If you need me just call out. I won't be able to help physically, but I can advise. Especially my Champion. Its part of the rules set down by Her." She said of their confused looks. "I love her dearly, and would do anything for her… but She's not real big on the explanations… tends to just give you a sweet smile and pat on the head." Gaia said in fond exasperation.

"See you later!" She said before simply vanishing. Again, no lights, no fanfare, just gone.

There was a quiet shuffling as an awkward silence settled over the group.

Xander broke it first. "I realise we all have questions and such, but maybe we should deal with Ethan first?" He suggested.

Buffy and Giles suddenly bolted for the office. They stepped out pretty quickly as they saw Ethan was still out of it.

"He should be out for a while, I'll just put in a call to the Council, have them send a retrieval team." Giles said as he reached for the phone on the counter.

Xander suddenly found himself in a crushing hug, so tight he couldn't move to see who it was.

He was quite shocked to find it was Miss Calendar.

"Sorry Xander." She said sheepishly. "Just wanted to thank you for keeping me away from the blue slime. I hate to think what it was like for you, and I don't even have a mental guard dog."

"Ah, no problem, just wish I hadn't over judged and slid into the disgusting goop." Xander said with a grin.

"What was it like when it attacked you?" Willow asked.

"Like watching a dog attack a demon. Eyghon was ugly, but the Hyena was clearly stronger. I took the liberty of kicking Eyghon up the butt now and then. The Hyena laughed. So not that bad an experience." Xander mused.

"And you got a superhero gig out of it too!" Willow chirped happily.

"Yep, no tights though… unless Buff agrees too." He said with a teasing leer.

"Dream on Animal." Buffy said with a playful shove.

"Please tell me that's not going to be your superhero name?" Jenny asked.

"What, 'Animal'?" Cordelia asked. "Sounds about right to me. We can use it to refer to anything, unlike 'Slayer' which is totally suspicious."

"What, so I can't use 'Tarzan'?" He asked in disappointment.

"No." The four ladies stated firmly.

"Buffy, you ok with me being a super powered fighter too?" Xander asked the blond slayer cautiously.

"Xander, according to Willow and Gaia, you have a tendency to try and save people. Maybe with you around and powered up, I can make it to 20." She said giving him a hug.

Xander growled, a very animalistic one too.

"As far as I am concerned, the only thing you're gonna die of is old age." Xander stated.

"If you hurry up and learn you can teach us this ascension thing, then she won't have to die at all!" Cordelia reminded him.

Ethan was picked up by the Watcher's Council Retrieval Team, which turned out to be a bunch of shifty looking men with guns.

Using a teleportation spell they were in and out of the country within an hour.

50 of those minutes were spent with Buffy as the men were quite awed to meet the Slayer. Buffy and the gang even posed with them for photos to show their families.

Whilst confused at first, Giles explained that the Slayer was the original reason for the Council to exist. Very few from the Council actually got to meet a Slayer but the Watcher's Journal's were required reading.

Despite being used to being stared at as a cheerleader, this was still something she was not used to.

The whole experience was just… weird.

But not in a bad way as the guys were really nice, if a little rough around the edges.

They were in her good books just for getting rid of Ethan.


	4. Chapter 4

The following Monday morning Buffy entered the library to an unusual sight. A small black cat was bouncing around the library like it had overdosed on catnip. It was jumping from the table to the bookcases, to another bookcase… eventually landing on the counter.

It saw Buffy and tilted its head and gave a curious little squeak.

Buffy couldn't resist the cute little face.

She picked up the cat holding it tightly.

The cat purred contentedly, rubbing its head against her chest.

"Aren't you the cutest little kitty!" She exclaimed in the common baby-voice that most humans employ when dealing with living things they consider cute.

This declaration brought Giles out of his office.

"Giles, when did you get a cat?" She asked still hugging and stroking the purring little motorboat.

Giles just looked at the cat and gave a somewhat exasperated sigh. He looked at Buffy pointedly.

"I didn't."

"Then whose cat is…" And there it was. "XANDER!" She squealed dropping the cat as she realised she was hugging her best male friend against her breasts… and he was definitely making the most of it.

Xander suddenly changed to his natural form and grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry Buff, couldn't resist. You were too easy to fool." He confessed.

"Xander asked if he could practice his form changes in here. I am curious as to why you chose a cat?" Giles asked the still sheepish teenager.

"I wanted to see what my agility was like, you know jumping around. Tonight I might try the same thing as a larger cat. Also flying, like an owl, that way I can help Buffy from the air." Xander explained.

"A good idea, but how will you communicate?" Giles asked.

Xander opened his mouth to answer, then realised that he didn't have an answer.

"I'll put Delta and the guys on it." He said.

Delta and the guys couldn't devise a way for them to properly communicate, but they did manage to develop a tracking system were Xander could hover over a target area and Buffy could track him.

It worked pretty well, a simple pressure system allowed Xander to alert Buffy if he spotted a target or if she was being stalked just by how hard he squeezed it with his talons, it in turn had a light that flashed a different colour allowing him to determine if he was squeezing it properly.

He also finished his coffin-gun. Most of the night was spent with Buffy shooting corpses through the ground whilst Xander kept an eye out.

He tended to beat a hasty retreat whenever Angel turned up. It seemed that Gaia's advice and revelations about Angel had been totally forgotten by Buffy. She was just as smitten. Xander decided to just leave them to it.

It was a week or so later that Buffy and Angel discovered the Order of Taraka was targeting Buffy.

The reactions of Giles and Angel both caused her to freak somewhat.

"Ok, so now you and Angel have both told me to run and hide. What's the big deal?" She asked confused. It wasn't like the other stuff she encountered was trying to buy her flowers and chocolates. Everything tried to kill her.

"Buff, can you stop a gun?" Xander asked interrupting Giles.

Buffy just looked at him in bewilderment.

"Assassins only care about the kill, they don't care how they get the kill. They could shoot you in the back, poison your lunch or blow up a building. They don't know the meaning of overkill." Xander explained.

"That is true, Xander. But how do you know this?" Giles asked somewhat worried.

"Wash was a Freelancer, a specially trained soldier. Assassinations were part of that training. Sometimes the only way to save others and stop a tyrant, is to kill them." Xander explained as he remembered some of Wash's missions, not all of them had been particulary savoury in hindsight.

"So what should we do?" Willow asked.

"Your mums out of town right?" Xander asked the Slayer.

Buffy nodded. "For the next few days."

"Ok, I recommend all of us, Giles included relocate to Buffy's house. The AI's can keep surveillance, Church and I can check the rest of the houses and that way, if they approach the house you have plenty of backup, and Giles and Willow can let us know if it's a tricky kill."

"That does seem like a smart idea, but why not stay at my place instead of risking Buffy's house?" Giles asked.

"We need to end this, and that means confronting the assassins, not hiding from them." Xander explained.

"Xander, can I assume you are capable of dealing with any human assassins?" Giles asked.

Xander nodded seriously.

"Why can't I deal with human assassins and what human would work with demons anyway?" Buffy asked indignantly.

"Catherine Madison, Chris and Eric." Xander offered.

"Fritz and Dave. Ethan Rayne." Willow added.

"Billy Fordham and Rupert Giles."

These last two were a shock to Buffy and Willow, especially as Giles was the speaker.

"Humans are capable of both incredible amounts of evil, and equal amounts of stupidity." Giles explained. "Some of us learn the error of our ways like Chris, Dave and myself." Others know the pain and damage they will cause, and like vampires, they revel in it.

"You are a Slayer, you are forbidden to kill humans. Watchers and retrieval teams like the gentlemen from last week handle human threats. Xander is a soldier, something I have come to accept understand from discussions with Church and Delta.

"Delta has been keeping an eye on Xander's psychological state, as per his standard protocols. Although he is still Xander, much of his previous ways of thinking have been reinforced.

"You might remember that Xander was all for beheading Catherine Madison, now he could do it himself and still sleep at night as he would know for a fact that he did the right thing and felt justified.

"It will still pain him to take a life, but an enemy combatant would eventually become another statistic that occurred to save others and complete the mission." Giles explained as Xander sat quietly staring at the table.

He could tell Giles had much respect for him, despite his sometimes childish ways. He knew Giles wouldn't hate him or dislike him.

But he couldn't bring himself to look at Buffy and Willow's faces in case he saw that they couldn't accept it.

Suddenly he felt a pair of soft arms wrap around him, he looked over to see Gaia seated to his left. She kissed his cheek and gave him a sad smile.

"It's also a reason I accepted him as a my Champion. There will come a time when I need him to handle a purely mundane human incident that has nothing to do with the supernatural. Xander will do it, with a heavy heart, but he will do it. And I will be waiting for him to comfort him." Gaia said softly.

"Now enough of this, the three of you go and prepare to stay at Buffy's house, I'm taking Xander away for a talk." She declared.

And promptly vanished with Xander.

Giles smiled softly, glad that someone was looking out for the young champion. It also made him sad that the Powers That Be never showed that kind of care for their champions.

Xander found himself lying by a stream on a grass verge on the edge of a woods. Gaia lying next to him. Both staring up at the over hanging branches.

"I take it your not handling the fact that you have memories of someone who killed as well as Giles thinks?" She asked softy as she rolled on her side to face Xander.

"More like I'm not handling the fact that I em_am_/em handling the fact that I have those memories." Xander said.

"You're worried it's changed you from who you were?" She asked.

Xander nodded.

Gaia propped herself up on her arm to look down at Xander.

"Xander, every experience we have changes us, its how we grow as people. Even I, in all the millions of years I have existed, have learnt much, I have made mistakes, had great successes and have changed as a result."

"You made mistakes?" Xander asked in confusion.

"I'm not infallible, not like The Creator. I was very naive at the beginning, at the time of the heavenly rebellion I became very sullen. The dinosaurs were my mistake, and I had to destroy them as a result.

"That was the punishment I was set by God; to clean up my own mistake. But I also succeeded in driving out the demons.

"You are my reward."

Xander looked confused.

"God's reward to me was to point you out as my ideal Champion. So I wouldn't have to sit back and watch my domain be torn apart from inside… or out. You are my Hand in dealing with the world, affecting where I can't. I will still be able to help you specifically though."

"Are you seriously saying that after saving the world from demons and making it a safer place for humans… all you got was me?" Xander asked in disbelief.

"You have to realise that since the demons were driven out I have had to watch my domain and subjects suffer. Imagine if you were made to watch as your girls were tortured. You were helpless to save them. How would that make you feel?" She asked sadly.

It was here that Xander realised that Gaia had been in a lot of pain. The pain of having experienced all this and being helpless to prevent it.

He understood perfectly that he was essentially a tool. But considering what he was to be used for he could live with it happily.

Xander pulled the sad goddess into a hug and pulled her down next to him. Sometimes it was so easy to forget that she was a god. She spoke with un-flowery words, sometimes she used their own slang. But he realised that she wouldn't be much of a god if she didn't know how to relate to her people.

She also dressed in modern clothes, long skirts or knee high dresses and simple blouses. Very 'earthy'.

Sometimes she seemed like just another one of his girls.

And he took care of his girls.

They lay there for a while, just enjoying each other's company and the sound of the stream rolling by.

"This is nice." Gaia said eventually.

"Yeah, it's nice to just lay back and relax with friends sometimes." Xander agreed. "Why don't you come and spend more time with us? You might not be able to help us directly, but something tells me your knowledge, experience and wisdom are free to give."

"You mean it might make me feel better if I was able to take control of the situation even if it was just through you?" She asked with a small smile as she rolled to face him.

"Technically I'm a soldier. I know how to take orders." Xander grinned. "Besides, it would take some of the pressure off me if I knew what I could and could not do at the time. I worry about when the next issue crops up… will I handle it the correct way."

"Xander that is why I picked you, because I trust your judgement. Do what you think you should because that is your job as my Champion. But, I will take you up on your offer. You and your friends are fun to be around." She conceded snuggling into Xander's side.

Xander found himself somewhat amused and confused. A real goddess, who was incredibly hot, was lying next to him alone in fairly romantic environment. Xander wondered what he had done to deserve this fantasy.

He was also hoping he wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

Deciding not to question a goddess he simply pulled her more firmly into his side. This caused Gaia to emit a contented sigh.

Buffy was not coping.

Willow was walking her to her locker so they could leave immediately and setup camp back at Buffy's house. Willow could see that the Slayer was getting very paranoid – and rightfully so.

Unfortunately Buffy suddenly snapped and rounded on a male student barely taller than her and slammed him against the lockers.

Willow was able to calm the agitated Slayer down and the young man watched them wander off down the hall.

They eventually met up with Giles, Gaia and Xander back at Buffy's house a few hours later.

"Did you encounter any problems?" Giles asked Buffy as they settled in the lounge.

Buffy looked a little embarrassed.

"Buffy got a little jumpy, accidentally jumped a guy, slammed him against the lockers." Willow said with a wince that was matched by everyone else. "He seemed ok with it though." She tried to reassure them.

This statement caused them to all look at her weirdly.

"By which I mean he didn't hold a grudge, not that he seemed to enjoy it and was looking for a repeat with handcuffs, whips and I'm gonna shut up now!" She babbled.

"Who knew! Willow knows about the kinky stuff." Xander smirked. "I may have to ask you for tips at some point."

Willow just turned red.

Giles decided to save her from passing out.

"Well, at least you made it home safely and without incident. Delta has informed me that one of the assassins is in the house across the street." Giles said with out preamble.

"WHAT!" Buffy exclaimed. "Shouldn't we be doing something? Like running and hiding?" She cried.

"Hmm, I'm thinking Buffy and I need to go pay this assassin a visit." Xander said looking at the panicking slayer.

"ARE YOU NUTS!" Buffy screamed.

"Buffy, you need to face this fear and see that, as dangerous as they can be, they can be killed and dealt with just like everything else." Giles said, having the same worries.

"Look, I'll go sneak in and get in place, then you knock down the door and take him out." Xander said.

"Sneak in?" Buffy asked. "Oh right." She realised he could crawl under the door as an ant. "Won't the owner of the house be upset about her door?"

"Unfortunately she's dead, that is how the AI's knew the assassin was there." Giles said.

"Fine, get going Xander, I'll be there in five." Buffy grouched as she went to retrieve her weapons.

Five minutes later and the sound of a door being kicked in across the street was heard.

"I don't suppose you know what type of demon they are facing?" Giles asked Gaia.

"Not a very powerful one. Buffy probably won't do much more than get a swing in. This one will be Xander's show." Gaia said somewhat cryptically. "This is going to be more of a test for Xander and a lesson for Buffy."

Giles and Willow looked at with a lot of curiosity and a little worry.

"Don't worry, they really aren't in any danger. They will be-" Gaia paused and tilted her head as if listening. "Damn, I have to go. I'll be back as soon as I can. Tell Xander for me?"

Willow nodded as Gaia vanished.

"That was…"

"Weird?" Willow offered.

"Indeed."

"I'm just saying we could have killed a few of them!" Buffy complained as the duo returned to the house.

"They didn't know any better. Now they do and they won't harm anyone." Xander argued.

"Everything go ok?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, creepy stalker assassin was watching the house. Turned into a bunch of bugs when I attacked." Buffy groused.

"Really, incredible. How did you defeat it?" Giles asked with burning curiosity.

"Xander?" Buffy said holding her hand out for him to explain.

"They were real bugs, not demonic. I had a little talk with them. They themselves aren't a demon. A demon spirit simply controls them. I told them they were doing wrong and said they should separate and travel as far away from each other as possible."

"Seeing a bunch of bugs running at you… very, very creepy!" Buffy shuddered.

"Where's Gaia?" Xander asked.

"Little goddesses room?" Buffy quipped.

"Something came up, she said she'd be back as soon as possible." Giles said.

"Ok, cool." Xander shrugged.

Gaia returned later in the evening complaining about big headed, egotistical morons.

She wouldn't go into further details but apparently there were some morons who were treating others like they were children. Gaia had to give them a talking to about equality and such.

She wasn't sure they paid too much attention.

"They argued with a goddess?" Buffy asked in disbelief.

"Well, they don't actually know I'm a goddess. Not many people do, its easier to just let them think I'm a higher being of some sort." She explained.

"Is this something I'll need to deal with?" Xander asked.

"Not yet, eventually you'll get involved. First you need to get a better grip on your current powers, nice job with the bug guy by the way. I think for now I'll just tell the morons who I really am and who they are pissing off!" She said determinedly.

"And if that doesn't work?" Willow asked warily.

"I'll just have to introduce them to Xander." She said with a small smile.

"I have no idea if I've just been insulted." Xander said in bewilderment.

Gaia leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Then my work is done." She said cheekily.

Xander decided that someone should probably patrol that night, so he left Buffy in the comforting hands of Giles and Willow. Gaia agreed to stay put too so she could get Xander in an emergency.

"You are aware we are being followed?" Delta asked as they made their way through a graveyard, his glowing green image lighting the area.

"Yeah, they're pretty good too. I wouldn't know they were there if it wasn't for Wash's instincts." Xander admitted.

"And the motion tracker we built into your watch?" Delta asked.

"Ok, that too." Xander grinned sheepishly.

"What do you intend to-"

"Hey, you gonna come out or you just gonna stalk me all night?" Xander called out.

"-do". Delta finished weakly. "That was because I mentioned the motion tracker, wasn't it." Delta asked a little peeved.

Xander just smiled innocently.

There was some movement from the headstones and a young black girl about his age emerged in a very defensive manner, definitely a fighter.

"Hi, I'm Xander, this is Delta. I'm really hoping you aren't a vampire." Xander said cheerfully.

"I am no vampire!" She spat, her accent thick and definitely not local. "I am de Vampire Slayer."

"Huh, it's about time you got here." Xander said. "Anyway you can prove it… any chance you have an actual name?"

"I am Kendra, and I will prove myself when I kill you!" She declared.

"Why would you want to kill me? I'm just a guy!" He asked bewildered.

"I saw you consorting with vampires and even now you control ghosts." She said pointing at Delta's ethereal form.

"Ok, first of all, I don't consort with vampires. I kill them. Second, he's not a ghost. Delta here is an AI." Xander said a little heatedly. "He's technology, a computer." He said off her confused look.

"Actually I am far more-"

"Can it, Delta. So not the time." Xander muttered.

Kendra seemed to accept the explanation of Delta.

"That does not explain you with de vampires." But not so much on the rest.

"Yeah? When did you see me with a vampire and not kill it?" He sighed.

"Earlier dis evening I saw you and a blond vampire enter a house and I found de victim inside."

"Ok, the victim was killed by a Tarakan Assassin who me and the blond dealt with in the house. The blond is not a vampire. Why would you think that?"

"I saw her consorting and kissing another vampire." She said firmly.

"Right, of course you did." Xander said exasperatedly, clearly Buffy and Angel were still going strong.

"Look lets go see my friends and sort this out. You can meet Giles." Xander suggested.

"Rupert Giles de Watcher?" She asked in awe.

"Yep, really great guy. Little stuffy, but still a good man." Xander said fondly.

"I still cannot trust you, you could be a vampire." She said.

"You should be able to tell I'm not a vampire, the same way I can tell you're not a vampire." Xander said.

Kendra looked at him in confusion.

Xander just tapped the crucifix on his neck.

Kendra just blushed and looked sheepish.

The introductions back at Buffy's were met with a muddle of emotions.

Giles was astounded.

Willow was in pure investigator mode.

Buffy… Buffy was putting up a belligerent front, but it was clear that this was freaking her out.

Kendra eventually let slip that she might have done something to Angel.

"Where is HE!" Buffy demanded.

"I cannot tell you." Kendra said. "You are clearly under his thrall!"

"No, he has a soul now." Giles said somewhat lamely.

"I am sorry sir but until I get orders from my Watcher I must assume he has you all under his spell." She said apologetically.

"WHY YOU-" Buffy screamed pouncing at Kendra, only to find herself being held back by Xander.

"Let me at her Xander, I'll beat it out of her." Buffy demanded.

"Stand down Buff. She's right, she is uninformed and should wait till she has her orders from a trusted source." Xander said.

"But what about Angel?" She cried pitifully.

Xander just rolled his eyes. "I'll go get him and take him to the library."

"You know where he is?" Willow asked.

"I have him being tracked, the guys can tell me." Xander explained. "I'll be back after I drop him off at the library."

"Bring him back here." Buffy said.

"What! No!" Xander exclaimed as if it was the worst idea ever. "For starters your mother lives here and I don't want him anywhere near her, not to mention if she finds out about him she'll likely have an aneurysm!" Xander argued.

Buffy was about to argue back but Xander just went on.

"Secondly, do you really want him around someone that will try and kill him on sight just on principle?" He asked smugly pointing at Kendra.

Buffy visibly deflated. "Well tell me where he is and I'll get him."

"No, you stay here and make sure Kendra doesn't try and come after me or hurt Willow or Giles. Or Gaia." He added as an after thought, not like Kendra could hurt the goddess, but she didn't know what Gaia was and that was the way he wanted it.

Xander quickly left before Buffy could rally another attack.

Finding Angel was relatively easy.

Xander had him bugged. He had been tempted to use real bugs, but figured it would be easier to create an implant that he had shot into Angel's ear.

Once again Xander praised mans greatest invention.

Television.

Futurama had given him the idea. He had created a small ship, being Xander he had modelled it on the Planet Express Ship. The ship was actually controlled by O'Mally who was supposed to be documenting the workings of a vampire's body.

Xander frequently found the maniacal AI flying the small craft into Angel's brain.

O'Mally had destroyed 3 before Xander managed to make something a little more sturdy.

It never occurred to him to simply tell the AI not to do it.

Xander found the ensouled vampire at Willy's, locked in a cage out back. He hadn't even bothered to talk to the weasily proprietor; he simply shoved him out the way and ordered Angel to follow him.

"Why aren't we going to Buffy's house?" Angel asked as they walked towards the school.

"Because Joyce wouldn't approve. As long as you actually watch your back this time, you should be safe at the library." Xander said calmly.

"And who's going to protect Buffy if the Assassins come?" He asked. "You?" Angel scoffed not having much faith in Xander despite his Spartan armour and not having been told about his new Champion status or Gaia. Fortunately Buffy had respected his wishes in this respect.

Xander smirked slightly. "Two slayers and a former warlock. I think we'll manage." Xander replied snidely.

Xander returned to find out that Kendra had contacted her Watcher and confirmed that Mr Giles was on the level and should be considered in charge whilst she stayed in Sunnydale.

Having appeased Buffy with the knowledge that Angel had been freed from captivity, they all turned in for the night with the girls in Buffy's room, the guys in the living room and Church and the available AI's standing watch.

The night passed peacefully and in the morning Gaia headed off for parts unknown and the rest headed for school.

Angel left a note to say he had headed home as the sun was rising.

Xander assured Buffy that as far as he knew the tanless wonder was safe at home.

Buffy was a little surprised when she and Willow were approached by the guy she accosted yesterday in the hallway.

"Hey Willow."

"Hi Oz, oh, you remember Buffy." She chirped happily.

"Kinda difficult to forget." Oz said with a small smile at Buffy.

Buffy just blushed and stared at her feet.

"If its any consolation, you had me pinned pretty good." Oz joked trying to lighten the mood.

"Sorry about that." Buffy said uncomfortably. "I have to go, polyester and handguns await." Buffy bemoaned as she waved goodbye.

As she moved off she heard Oz ask Willow something about computers, Buffy quickly tuned out. Buffy suddenly realised she had as much love for computers as Giles did.

Now that creeped her out.

Buffy stood in line as the officer gave instructions and raised her hand as she heard her name called.

She saw the gun being drawn and reacted instantly. The gun went off firing a shot skyward. Buffy struggled with the officer, but she seemed evenly matched. Buffy needed to back off and regroup. With a knee to the gut Buffy downed the officer and ran off to cover.

The officer pulled a backup gun and drew down on the fleeing girl, she was suddenly blindsided from behind, the gun flying away.

Willow peeked from cover in time to see Xander barrel into the officer and leap through a window.

And vanish.

"Is it me or did that guy just disappear into thin air with a police officer?" Oz asked calmly.


	5. Chapter 5

Xander had heard the shot and come running. He saw Buffy knock down the officer and make tracks. He had to get the threat away from the school before innocent bystanders got hurt.

He charged in, grabbed the cop and leapt for the nearest window, his whole intent to get her away from the school.

It seemed he had achieved his goal.

Xander found himself sprawled out on a sandy desert. The wind was wafting creating swirls and tiny dust devils.

This was definitely not Sunnydale.

He then remembered the cop and rose to a defensive position.

The cop also seemed to be slightly dazed and shocked at the abrupt change in scenery.

"I don't suppose we could settle this with a friendly game of tic-tac-toe?" Xander asked hopefully.

The cop just growled and leapt at him.

It was obvious that she had no idea of what Xander was capable. He stepped to the side slightly letting her stumble past; he then pulled her back, and snapped her neck.

Xander let her dead body fall to the ground.

The entire fight was over in 3 seconds and 2 moves.

Xander was not surprised when the body started to melt. He was relieved that he still had yet to take a human life.

When it was finished he turned his back on the body and headed for the highest sand dune. Climbing a sand dune is hard work. Like crawling up a mountain of jello.

Without the tasty goodness.

Reaching the top he discovered to his dismay that he was surrounded by more sand… and nothing else.

"Time to call for help." Xander muttered. "GAIA!" He screamed into the air.

"Xander?" The goddess asked in confusion as she appeared. "What are you doing here?"

"Beats me, one minute I was jumping through a window with one of the assassins, next I'm in the desert." Xander shrugged. "Any idea which desert I'm in?"

"Not one that you know unfortunately." Gaia muttered. "This is not good Xander. It sounds like you tapped into one of your powers a bit early. You basically transported yourself to another planet."

"Ok, how do I transport myself back?" He asked cutting to the chase.

"After a lot of practice." Gaia said. "You don't even know the basics yet, there is no way you can do it yet. We were going to start tapping your other powers in preparation soon, but you are still at least a year away from looking at teleportation." She said agitatedly.

"I take it this means you can't just whisk me back?" He asked.

"Nope, I can take you away to our little river for short periods, but I still need to bring you back to where you started to stay within the rules." Gaia paused for a moment. "Ok, you pick a bird and fly off that way." She said pointing away from the sun. "You will come to a city. They might be able to get you off this planet and back home. I can't give you anymore info, I am going to go upstairs and see what I can find out."

And again Gaia vanished.

Xander leapt into the air changing into an eagle, he figured he should probably glide as much as possible as he didn't know when his next drink would be.

Fortunately for Xander the city was only a few miles away. This however did make Xander suspicious about it being him that teleported. Especially so close to civilisation. He'd have to mention it to Gaia in case something nefarious was going on.

Xander landed a couple of hundred meters from the city, changing back to a human. He didn't want to freak out the natives. No telling if they had ray guns or something.

The city looked to be made of sand walls, there were drapes everywhere acting as shelters. A cross between a tent city and something out of the bible.

The people wore robes like in the middle east.

As he approached the city gates he was challenged by two guards. Who unfortunately did not speak English.

"Er, look guys, I was told to come here by a good friend. I'm from Earth if it helps?" He offered.

Obviously 'Earth' meant something to them as they jabbered about it for a few seconds before one of them ran off into the city. Whilst the other seemed to point at him with his staff and jabbered at him.

"Right, I stay here and he'll be right back." Xander nodded pointing to himself and then the ground.

The guard nodded back.

Eventually a man shuffled quickly out. His robes were slightly more colourful; he had the look of an elder about him. Someone you would defer to, kinda like how he saw Giles.

"You speak… English?" The man asked hesitantly.

"I do. My name is Xander, and I am a bit lost." Xander said with a slight bow. When in doubt… bow.

"Then you will be welcomed here Xander." The man said returning the bow. "I am Kasuf, the village elder."

Kasuf gestured Xander to walk with him.

"You have come at a good time. You come from Earth yes?"

Xander nodded.

"Good, my son-in-law is due to return from Earth in seven days, he can help you get home." Kasuf said brightly.

"Really, I didn't know we could travel between planets. Will they be coming in ships?" Xander asked in surprise.

"Ships? No, only the false gods come in ships." Kasuf said with some venom. "No, Daniel will come through the Chapa'ai."

"The what now?" Xander asked.

"Oh, the Stargate." Kasuf amended.

"Hmm, ok, I'll take your word for it." Xander shrugged. "So a week? Does he often travel back and forth between here and earth?"

"No, he left when my daughter, his wife, was abducted by a false god. He went to rescue her."

"I'm sorry. Is he still searching?" Xander asked sadly.

"He is, but when he returns he will not need to search anymore. My daughter has been returned." Kasuf said as he drew back the cloth door to one of the houses.

Xander saw a young woman, probably early twenties. She was weaving a basket.

She was heavily pregnant.

"How long as Daniel been gone?" Xander asked worriedly.

"In seven days it will be a year." Kasuf said solemnly.

"Oh dear." Xander said not needing to do the math.

"You know my Daniel?" The young lady asked excitedly.

"Daughter, this is Xander, a lost traveller from Earth." Kasuf said helping his daughter rise. "Xander, this is my daughter, Sha're."

"Pleased to meet you ma'am." Xander said with a smile and another bow.

Sha're returned the bow. "Do you know my Daniel?" She asked again.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I do. But I am looking forward to meeting him, hopefully he can get me home." Xander said. "So, baby coming soon?"

"Yes, any day now." Sha're said sadly.

"I understand." Xander said sadly.

"Some times she drives me completely crazy!" Came an aggravated cry as Gaia appeared in the room startling Kasuf and Sha're.

"Eh, Gaia? You're scaring the natives." Xander muttered to her.

"What? Oh right, so sorry. Kasuf and Sha're right?" Gaia said realising that now was not the time to cause a scene.

"Kasuf, Sha're, this is Gaia. She's my… erm… boss?" Xander looked questioningly at the much calmer goddess.

"Don't worry Xander, only on specific planets do you have to keep who I am a secret." She smiled at him. "I am Gaia, the Goddess of the Universe."

"Huh? I thought you were the Goddess of Earth?" Xander commented.

"Please, I hardly need to give a single planet much thought. It would be a complete waste for me to focus on Earth alone. Each planet is capable of taking care of itself. Micro managing is a bad thing sometimes." She scoffed.

"Oh, does that mean you have more Champions I can meet and learn with?" He asked eagerly.

"Ah. No, you're it, you're my Champion, the Champion of the Universe." She said sheepishly.

"Right, no pressure then." Xander muttered.

"Across all realities?" Gaia suggested with a wince.

Xander just looked at her.

"Please don't tell me I have to be responsible for hell dimensions?" Xander begged.

"Oh no, hell dimensions are under the domain of Lucifer, and other dimensions are under the domain of… other gods that The Creator made… like me!" She said with a bright smile.

"Riiight… thank God for small mercies then." He quipped.

"You are a Goa'uld?" Kasuf asked fearfully.

Xander looked confused but noticed that Gaia did not.

"No, I am not a slimy worm demon." Gaia said with disgust. "No, I am a real goddess, the way to tell, is if I am here to enslave you… which I'm not. Technically everything in the universe already belongs to me and I like things the way they are. Mostly." She added as an after thought.

"Slimy worm demon?" Xander asked.

"A parasitical snake that takes humans as hosts. They suppress the host consciousness. They are pure evil, want to rule the universe types. They are a remnant of demons left over from other planets, literally the scum off other demons feet as they left this dimension." She explained.

"Right, so see snake kill snake?" Xander asked.

"No, not for you, if you can help it." Xander looked confused so she explained.

"Apparently The Creator in her infinite wisdom," Gaia rolled her eyes, "has determined that you will be needed sooner in the wider universe. So a lot of your powers are going to be unlocked and you are going to have a crash course on learning."

"You're getting angry at God?" Xander said somewhat amused.

"Everyone gets angry with her, we still love her, she just loves living up to that whole 'mysterious ways' persona. It tends to rub everyone the wrong way at times." Gaia groused.

"Right, so how long do I have to learn?" Xander asked.

"About a week." She said apologetically.

"I have a week to learn to teleport?" He asked.

"Among other things."

"And what happens if I wind up back here? Or some where less hospitable that doesn't have regular Earth visits… speaking of which I assume God was the one who pushed me to this planet… seeing as someone from Earth will be along in a week?" Xander asked.

"Yeah, she figured you also needed an introduction to the problems of the wider universe. This will also give you an introduction to Earth's Stargate program."

"Yeah, ok, but what about the assassins, or the Hellmouth?" Xander asked.

"The assassins are finished, they only send three, and you'll be home within a week at the most. I'll introduce you to the Nox, they can help with your training, they're very much in tune with nature."

"I assume you'll be able to take me between there and the Hellmouth till I can do it myself?" Xander asked.

"No problem with that, you'll be teleporting by then, none of it is hard just… new. But for now we will start with your first lesson. How to deal with Goa'ulds." She said.

"And I can't kill them?" He asked.

"Only in battle, you have to remember that the host is usually an innocent, so you should try and free them, by killing the parasite." Gaia lectured.

"Right, and I do this how?" Xander asked.

"First of all we need to activate some of your senses, I kept your demon detecting senses off as the Hellmouth would just confuse you. But here we can work on turning them on and off." She said.

"HOLY CRAP WHAT IS THAT?" Xander shouted backing away from Sha're.

Xander could see an inky blackness snaking around Sha're's spine, it was not a pretty sight.

"That is the Goa'uld that is in Sha're. Normally she would be a bitchy person demanding you kneel to her and such, but as Sha're is pregnant the demon is asleep." Gaia said. She then noticed that Xander was still trying to back his way out of the stone house through the wall.

"Xander, you're scaring the natives!" Gaia admonished in mock severity.

This caused Xander to stop and stare at Gaia, and then sheepishly make his way back to the rather pale and perturbed Kasuf and Sha're.

"Ok, so can I turn this off?" Xander asked.

"Yep, you better keep it off on the Hellmouth, don't want you overwhelmed all the time." Gaia recommended.

"Ok, how?"

"Oh, just will it off, think of it like focusing your eyes, or lifting a finger. It's just another part of you, like shifting between animal forms."

Xander was about to concentrate very hard… and he realised that he didn't really want to frighten the two others with his fierce look of constipation, he also remembered that Gaia didn't make actions or sounds when she did things, so why would he need to. So he thought about turning it off.

And the inky blackness vanished.

"You're learning young grasshopper." She said sagely.

Xander just grinned smugly. "Ok, so how do we get this slimy thing out of the lovely Mrs Daniel… erm…"

"Jackson?" Gaia offered.

"Right, how do we do this? I'm guessing sooner the better?" He asked Sha're.

"If you can free me from the demon I would be most grateful." Sha're said pleadingly.

"Ok, it all comes down to a simple little fact that I haven't told you about." Gaia said with a small smile.

"Let me guess, other than the entire universe throughout all realities I'm also the champion throughout all times?" Xander asked burying his hands in his face.

"Well, yes but that's not what I was talking about." Gaia said.

Xander peaked over his fingers and raised an eyebrow.

"You're also my priest." Gaia said plainly.

"Okaaaay,." Xander drawled. "I can see that, you're a goddess an' all."

"Yes, but that makes you a holy man." Xander had a distinct look of horror on his face. "But you can still have sex and twinkies." She assured him.

Xander was a bit disturbed that he was more relieved about the twinkies.

Gaia rolled her eyes knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"Anyway, as a holy man you have… a certain commanding presence over demons – well, minor demons anyway. This means you can order weak vampires around, not so much with the masters. But, as the Goa'uld are the literal scum of hell, you can actually order them out of their hosts."

"Cool, I take it this is something you just activated?" Xander asked.

"Yep, no need to complicate things sooner than necessary." Gaia said giving the evil eye heavenward.

"Is there a ritual for any of this?" Xander asked.

"No, like the demon sense you just need to will it."

"Can I make holy water?" Xander asked looking for another tactical advantage.

"Any water you willingly give or claim is considered holy water." Gaia said.

"Cool, remind me to claim the school water system, not to mention those in our houses." Xander grinned.

Gaia just rolled her eyes and turned to Kasuf and Sha're who were completely lost and honestly not really looking for an explanation, Daniel would arrive soon and he could explain it.

"Kasuf, call the midwife, when we are finished Sha're will go into labour."

Surprisingly Kasuf just nodded and ran. "I gave him a bit of a mental nudge." Gaia told him with a sheepish grin.

"Sha're, when the baby is born, what do you want to do with it?" Xander asked, he wasn't going to force an unwilling woman to accept the child.

"Thank you for your concern Xander, but the baby is of my flesh and blood, even if it is not of my husband and will. I will keep the baby and raise it properly." She said with a smile as she kissed Xander's cheek in appreciation.

Xander smiled and blushed slightly, all these beautiful women kept kissing him.

Gaia gave him a knowing smile before turning to Sha're.

"Sha're, we will have to wake the demon, but it will only be briefly. Xander will then command the demon to leave you, it will escape from your mouth and you will be free." She assured her.

Sha're nodded nervously, then steeled herself. "I am ready."

"The floors all yours Xander." She told her young champion.

Xander looked at Sha're. "Try and relax, don't fight this or you might hurt yourself."

Sha're nodded.

"Demon! Wake up." Xander commanded softly.

The effect was instantaneous. Sha're went from a timid young woman to an arrogant bitch with glowing eyes.

"You will bow before your god." Sha're commanded. Her voice was deep, as if two people were talking.

"Shut up demon." Xander said. And the demon went to rant but found it couldn't.

"You have stolen this young woman's body. You have used her and abused her. You are beyond despicable. If I had my choice I would see you suffer for many years at my hands, but I won't put Sha're through that." Xander said angrily. There were many things Xander hated. Demons and vampires were near the top. But rape was something he would gladly kill perpetrators for and he would never give it a second thought.

"I command you to leave Sha're." Xander said his face hard and set.

The demon didn't put up a fight, it just exploded out of Sha're's mouth and onto the floor with a spray of blood.

Xander looked at the slimy snake with contempt.

He crushed it beneath his heel.

Gaia helped Sha're to the floor, as her water broke.

"You ok, Sha're?" Xander asked as he knelt beside Gaia and wiped at her mouth to remove the blood.

"I am free." She said with a tearful smile. "Thank you for saving me."

"I was em_very/em_ happy to help." Xander said.

Fortunately Kasuf arrived with the midwife, so Xander and Gaia stepped outside.

"She gonna be ok?" Xander asked.

"Physically she'll be fine. Talk to her husband about counselling though." Gaia suggested.

"Yeah." Xander sighed running a hand through his hair. "So I guess I am stuck on this planet for the next seven days then?"

"Unfortunately. We will be working on your powers and abilities until then, and by the time you get home you should be able to teleport reasonably well." Gaia assured him.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Will crossover with Roosterteeth RvB and the Halo universe, Dogma, Jack Ryan 'verse and Stargate.

Spoilers for BtVS Halloween Ep onwards and Stargate Season 2 onwards.

Also includes spoilers for most of RvB.

Warning: Timelines are altered so that episodes line up with each other. Don't expect the year episode 2x12 of SG to be the same. There is enough vagueness in both shows that years are not mentioned merely alluded to. So I am shuffling them to fit in MY timeline... which is why we call it FANFICTION.

AN: Someone pointed out that the Spartan Xander dressed as isn't in Halo lore, that's because it's actually from the Internet Show Red vs Blue, I recommend watching it as it is a great show. I apologise for not putting these notes in the first chapter, that has now been rectified.

Although this story was originally posted on and ttfh this is an edited, rewritten and added to version.

* * *

Soon the baby was born, a little boy.

Xander performed his first blessing as well bestowing the protection of Gaia upon mother and child.

Sha're insisted that they be her cultures equivalent of god-parents.

Xander swore to teach the little guy all the things a guy should know. Like comics and twinkies.

Gaia left soon after promising to let the others know that Xander was ok and would be back in a week.

Xander and Gaia spent much of the week with Sha're whilst Gaia explained some of his other powers. This included scaring the life out of Sha're when Xander changed into a cat.

According to Gaia, Xander's new abilities were simply extensions of the ones he knew about.

In addition to being an animal changer, he could now access the abilities of any animal whilst in his human form, speed, strength, enhanced senses, even the ability to breathe under water.

His training with the Nox would teach him to communicate with trees and vegetation, this was not as easy as the animal communication as he couldn't turn into a tree.

He was soon able to teleport. According to Gaia, he just had to know whom he was going to or where he was going. He spent time teleporting all around the city. Occasionally taking Sha're and the baby for a ride.

Gaia said there was an additional ability to his teleporting, but that he wouldn't need that for a long while… divine intervention not withstanding.

The seven days passed and Kasuf brought Daniel to his home to see his wife. He also brought someone else too.

Xander saw the large man with a staff. But what caught his attention was the inky black snake in his stomach.

Xander charged the man knocking him down easily.

"NO WAIT! HE'S A GOOD GUY!" Daniel shouted.

Xander had the man pinned, but he didn't seem to be putting up a fight.

"Then why does he have a Goa'uld in his gut?" Xander asked.

"You're American?" Daniel asked in surprise.

"And you're an idiot, can we get back to the snake?" Xander snarked.

"He defected to Earth to fight back against Apophis and help me find my wife… Sha're?" Daniel finished in shock seeing his wife huddled in a corner.

Daniel pulled his zat gun and pointed it at Sha're.

Xander quickly immobilised the large man with a pressure point and knocked down Daniel.

"I seriously hope spousal abuse is not a common theme with you." Xander growled pushing on Daniel's windpipe.

"She's a Goa'uld, she'll kill us all." Daniel wheezed.

Xander suddenly let up and stood up.

"Oh, is that all, old snakey has left the building." He said offhandedly. "That there is one hundred percent, grade A gen-u-wine Sha're Jackson." Xander said in his best Texan voice.

"But we saw her, she was a Goa'uld, Teal'c and I both… " At this point Daniel noted his friend was still on the floor.

"Ah, don't worry, he's just sleeping." Xander assured him. "Like I said, the snake is gone, crushed beneath this very foot." Xander said lifting his foot to show as he hobbled to keep his balance.

"How did you get it out?" Daniel asked.

Xander floundered before a moment. "Trade secret." He hedged. "Besides, is that really more important than greeting your long lost wife?"

Daniel realised that he was in the same room as his de-snaked wife.

Suffice to say neither was coming up for air anytime soon.

Kasuf and Xander made a discreet exit stepping over the inert body of Teal'c.

"Kasuf, you sure that big guy is on the up and up?" Xander asked. "Is he really safe for Sha're to be around." He clarified at Kasuf's look of confusion.

"Daniel has vouched for him. That is good enough for me. He would not endanger his family." Kasuf assured him.

"Ok. One question, you said they weren't coming by ship right?" Xander asked.

"That is correct, they used the ring of the gods." Kasuf confirmed.

"Right, so who is that then?" Xander asked pointing to the large flying pyramid in the distance.

"The Goa'uld!" Kasuf cried in terror.

Kasuf suddenly took off shouting orders in his native tongue.

"Right, and here I was hoping Santa souped up his sled." Xander grumbled as he made his way back in to the hut.

"Did I hear right? The Goa'uld are coming?" Daniel asked.

"Big pyramid floating in the sky? Kasuf said so." Xander remarked. "Any chance they followed you guys here?" Xander asked.

"No, you can't track the Stargate." Daniel said as he knelt beside Teal'c and tried to revive him.

"They are here for me and the baby." Sha're said fearfully.

"Cool, you mean I get to kill more slimy worms?" Xander asked gleefully. "'Cos, I gotta say they make a lovely squish noise."

"What!" Daniel exclaimed as Teal'c sat up gingerly. "We run and hide, we do NOT want to take on an army of Jaffa." Daniel argued.

"What's a Jaffa?" Xander asked. "Isn't that like a British snack food? I think Giles keeps going on about them."

"Jaffa are warriors like Teal'c." He said indicating the large man. "They have the Goa'uld in a pouch like a kangaroo."

"Ok, ick." Xander shuddered. "Well, the big guy was easy enough to deal with. You stay here and defend the city, I'll go deal with the snake guys." Xander said as he headed for the door, he then paused. "Problem. I don't know where they are going."

"I will accompany you." Teal'c said with an incline of his head.

Xander took that as a good sign, not arrogant like the Goa'uld.

"Ok, stay back then and I'll handle them." Xander said as he headed out the door.

"What baby?" Daniel asked as the previous conversation caught up with him.

"Oh, for now lets just say the baby is mine, we'll hash out the details later." Xander said as he poked his head back in.

It took Teal'c and Xander about 20 minutes to reach their destination, which turned out to be a huge pyramid, they arrived just as the pyramid ship was descending onto it.

"Ok, what are they likely to do?" Xander asked as they entered the pyramid the whole building was shaking.

"They will send down an advanced guard to prepare the way for their god." Teal'c said.

"Right, then lets hide till he shows up, then I can sort them out." Xander said as he ducked behind a statue.

"They will slaughter us, they are equipped with staff weapons and… ray guns." Teal'c said trying use words that O'Neill would understand.

"Care to make a bet on that?" Xander grinned.

At that moment the shaking stopped and a column of rings appeared in the middle of the room depositing a group of men in armour and very weird helmets.

The soldiers weren't very good, they didn't search the place, they just formed two parallel lines like an honour guard.

One of them said something in a foreign language, and then the column of light appeared depositing two more soldiers and a guy with an inky snake round his spine.

"I take it that is the head honcho?" Xander whispered.

"It is Heru'ur, their god." Teal'c confirmed.

"Right, wait here." Xander said stepping out from behind the statue before Teal'c could stop him.

"Stop right there demon." Xander said.

The Goa'uld froze in place. "Who dares to defy their god!" It said.

"Nobody, cause your not a god, you're a slimy little worm. Turn and face me." Xander ordered.

By this point all the weapons were trained on him.

"I am about to prove that this so called 'god', is worthless. That I am far more powerful than him, and I am no god." Xander told the soldiers. "If you don't believe me after I have proven this, I'll have to kill you. If you believe me, lay down your weapons and I will grant you protection." Xander said. He noticed he seemed to be channelling his inner Giles a lot recently.

"Ok, demon, leave the poor host. Now." Xander ordered.

Just as with Sha're there was no hesitation as the worm burst out of the poor host's mouth and wriggled on the floor. The host fell to the floor in a dead faint.

Xander didn't hesitate, he crushed the snake as it writhed.

"Behold, your god is dead." Xander said with a fake smile. "What is your choice?"

There was a brief pause as the soldiers exchanged looks.

And then a clatter as numerous staff weapons hit the stony floor.

The Jaffa warriors fell to their knees and put their faces in the dirt in submission.

Xander rolled his eyes.

"On your feet soldiers!" He barked. "There are very few that a man should kneel to, I am not one of them."

"Teal'c, it should be safe now, come out." Xander called out, the large man cautiously exiting his hiding spot.

"Shol'va!" One of the guards exclaimed in disgust.

"Ok, I have no idea what that means but it didn't sound good." Xander mused. "Do you really think you should be insulting the guy I called to stand by me?" Xander asked.

"Forgive me My Lord, I did not think." The soldier said inclining his head in deference.

"Clearly." Xander said dryly deciding to go with the 'lord' stuff for now. "But now I need you all to think. I'm assuming there are more Jaffa on board the ship?" Xander asked.

"There are 200 Jaffa loyal to Heru'ur, my lord." One of the men said.

"Right, I would like to try and convince them like I did you, without needless blood shed." Xander explained. "Any ideas?"

"A show of strength is the only way to convince them." Teal'c said. "A Jaffa does not change allegiance unless his god is killed."

"He speaks the truth My Lord, you must demand their obedience with a show of strength." The Jaffa who insulted Teal'c agreed.

"What if I just beat up anyone who argues?" Xander asked.

"A Jaffa lives and dies on the whim of his god, as long as you prove you have defeated Heru'ur, and can show your strength, that should be enough." Teal'c agreed.

"Ok, what if we take the host with us?" Xander asked.

"That would truly convince them, perhaps without the need for physical confrontation." Teal'c agreed.

"Cool, lets ask him then." Xander said as he walked over to the unconscious man.

After a few slaps and shakes the man was wide awake and very afraid, he was bowing and clearly begging for his life.

Unfortunately he did none of it in English.

"I thought this guy was speaking English!" Xander groaned.

"English?" One of the Jaffa asked.

"It is what the Tau'ri call the language the gods use." Teal'c said.

"Hey, what did we just learn about the snakes?" Xander admonished.

"That they are not gods?" One of them offered.

"Exactly." Xander said with a grin. "Ok, this could be a problem."

"Daniel Jackson is an accomplished linguist, he may know the language this man speaks." Teal'c said.

"Yeah, but it'll take forty minutes plus to get him here. I'd rather not wait too long."

"They will not think anything of waiting, they will do nothing without orders from their god." Teal'c said.

"Ok, you head off and get Daniel, I'll wait here with these guys. You got any food on you or water?" Xander asked.

"I could return to the ship and order food to be sent down. Our god – I mean the Goa'uld would often do this on worlds he conquered as he held council." One of the men suggested.

"Ok, you do that, whilst Teal'c gets Daniel." Xander said.

It didn't take long for the Jaffa soldier to return with food and water. Xander managed to get the former host to eat and drink something.

He managed to get the man's name too, Ba'run. Not to mention the names of the Jaffa.

Whilst they waited for Teal'c to return with Daniel, Xander asked the Jaffa about what sort of power Heru'ur had, ships, planets and the like.

Apparently Heru'ur was a System Lord and controlled many planets and a fleet of many ships.

This gave Xander the beginning of a migraine. He needed to keep control of the territories and ships in case another snake tried to take them, they wouldn't treat them well and would only enslave and kill more people.

He figured he'd just discuss it with Daniel, Teal'c and the Jaffa later.

Teal'c returned with Daniel in tow.

"Teal'c I'm telling you, it was probably some sort of technology-WOAH!" Daniel came to a stumbling halt at the sight of Xander, an unknown man and several Jaffa all sitting around eating and drinking.

"I know you warned me, but it's still a weird thing to see." Daniel commented to Teal'c.

"Daniel, everything ok back at the city?" Xander asked.

"Everything's fine, Sha're seemed pretty confident you were ok." Daniel noted, hoping Xander would explain.

"Meh, you squash one Goa'uld and the rest don't seem like that big of a deal." Xander shrugged with a grin. "Now, Daniel, this is Ba'run, Ba'run doesn't speak English, Teal'c said you could help." Xander introduced them.

Daniel eventually determined that Ba'run was speaking an ancient dialect from the Norse regions. Possibly one of the last slaves taken from one of Thor's planets.

Ba'run was so grateful to Xander for freeing him that he was more than willing to do whatever he asked.

Xander settled on having Ba'run act like he was absolutely scared of Xander.

The trip into the ship was relatively peaceful, apart from one moron claiming to be the First Prime. Xander settled things pretty quickly by having the Jaffa's symbiote jump out of his pouch. He was pretty much on board after that demonstration.

That pretty much sealed the deal for the rest of the ship. And apparently all of those under Heru'ur's rule.

Apparently Ma'al, the Jaffa that had insulted Teal'c had broadcast Xander's actions to throughout the ship and to all the other ships and settlements.

Having seen Xander command a god to actually jump from its host, there was little doubt that Xander was far more powerful than a Goa'uld.

Xander commended Ma'al on good thinking.

Having dealt with the issue of preventing a full scale invasion of Jaffa, Xander now had to figure out what to do with it all.

Deciding to stick to his original plan, he sent Teal'c back to the planet to get Daniel, Kasuf, Sha're and the baby.

They returned a while later. Xander was happy enough that the First Prime would do a decent job and knew that Xander would not appreciate the methods of his former master.

Xander and Ma'al took Ba'run back to Heru'ur's personal chambers so he could rest up whilst the others discussed things.

They were soon joined by the planet side group.

"Hey guys, everything go ok?" Xander asked.

"Everything is well Xander, is it true, you defeated another Goa'uld?" Kasuf asked.

"Yep, two slimy worms squished and the only downside is I need to clean my shoes." He grinned. "Everything ok with you, Sha're?"

"We are well Xander. I look forward to hearing the tales of your victory." She said with a smile from beside a bewildered Daniel who was trying to figure out why his wife was holding a baby.

"Knowing Ma'al, he's probably got the whole thing recorded." He said gesturing to the slightly blushing Jaffa.

"Kasuf, what sort of protection do your people have from an attack by another Goa'uld?" Xander asked the tribal elder.

"Very little, we have only the staffs and spears you were confronted with when you came to our gates. We have a few weapons of Jaffa from when Daniel and his friends defeated Ra, but no training to use them."

"Then I offer you my protection. I would leave a ship in orbit to stand as a guardian of the planet and to offer what we can to you and your people." Xander said formally.

"Ship? He has a ship?" Daniel could be heard to mutter.

"Quiet husband!" Sha're chastised quietly.

"What would we need to do for you?" Kasuf asked somewhat suspiciously.

"Nothing. Just live. Maybe learn new things so one day you can protect yourselves without assistance." Xander shrugged.

"We would be honoured." Kasuf said bowing down low.

"Good, I hate the thought of my godson growing up with out his grand-pappy." Xander said with a cheeky grin.

"Grand-Pappy?" Daniel asked.

"Ah, right. Erm, Ma'al, Teal'c, could you wait outside for us?" Xander asked the two Jaffa.

The two left and Xander indicated Daniel should take a seat. Sha're sat on a chair opposite holding the baby.

"Ok, here's the thing. The snake that took Sha're as a host, used her body to make a baby with another snake… in another body." Xander explained. "The baby however is biologically Sha're's, and she has claimed it as her own. She has named myself and a friend as godparents, and I have placed them under my protection." Xander shuffled slightly. "Kasuf and I are going to be outside if you need us."

"Is everything well my lord?" Ma'al asked as they entered the corridor.

"Not really, Sha're is Daniel's husband. She was impregnated by another Goa'uld. Daniel just found out." Xander explained.

"A child of two Goa'uld?" Ma'al asked in fear.

Xander nodded.

"It is forbidden for two Goa'uld to conceive. This must be why our g-Heru'ur was so anxious to find Apophis' queen." Ma'al explained with some awe.

"A Harsesis!" Teal'c exclaimed.

"Yes." Ma'al nodded.

"Ok, so what is so bad about a Harsesis?" Xander asked.

"The Goa'uld have a genetic memory. They have the memory of all the Goa'uld that came before them. Likewise a child born of two Goa'uld would also inherit the genetic memory. It would have em_all/em_ the knowledge and secrets of the Goa'uld, without the symbiote." Teal'c explained.

"They would hunt the child either to claim it as their host or to destroy it." Ma'al added.

"Ok, not good." Xander mused. "How about we fake their deaths?"

"It would need to be very convincing." Teal'c noted.

"Ok, we'll get together with Sha're and Daniel and discuss it. My godson is not gonna live his life on the run!" Xander declared.

"We should also ask the people of the SGC for advice, they are skilled warriors and tacticians." Teal'c offered.

"Who are they?" Xander asked.

"They are the people on Earth that control the Stargate." Teal'c said in confusion. "You are not from Earth?"

"Oh, I am, I just didn't get here through the big ring." Xander said.

"You have a ship then? I did not know that the Taur'i possessed crafts capable of traversing space so far." Teal'c nodded his head in understanding.

"Er, no. I came by a completely different method. Lets just call it 'Xander Air' for now, its hard to explain, and definitely not something I can explain yet." Xander said. "It's also the reason I will need to come home with you guys, my method was… not intentional and at the moment I am stuck here.

"Ok, so bottom line, Apophis and any one else who knows about the child will be coming here for it?" Xander asked.

"Apophis will most certainly return. I do not know how Heru'ur learnt of the child though, so I am uncertain as to whether any other Goa'uld knows of its existence." Ma'al said.

"Ok, maybe Ba'run knows, we'll have Daniel ask him." Xander mused. "For now we'll leave some Jaffa in the city and hide this ship somewhere. I figure Apophis will be back soon as Sha're has already given birth."

Xander turned to Ma'al. "Can you get the First Prime, I need to let him know the plan."

"One moment Ma'al." Teal'c said. "You are aware there are communications panels embedded in each corridor?" He asked Xander.

"Oops." Xander said sheepishly. "First time on a space ship. Can you show me how to use them?"

Plans were shortly put in motion. Ma'al was tasked with choosing honourable soldiers that would live in the city undercover.

The First Prime, Sayel, took the ship into orbit on the dark side of a nearby planet.

Meanwhile Daniel appeared to have started to come to terms with the fact that he had a step-son. Sha're had held off naming the child wanting Daniel to hold that honour.

And so Xander's godson had a name. Nicholas Xander Jackson. Sha're being the one who wanted him to have the name of their saviour.

Daniel dialled home, informing the General that they were bringing guests. They said their farewells to Kasuf, Xander promising that he would come visit with Sha're soon.

Needless to say that statement made the two other men very curious, but they held their peace… for now.

Ba'run would stay with Kasuf for now whilst Sayel brought in someone to translate from the former host's home world.


	7. Chapter 7

"Sha're!" Jack exclaimed as the group made their way down the ramp.

"O'Neill, it is good to see you again!" Sha're said brightly as O'Neill hugged the woman.

"Daniel? Who's the kid with a kid?" Jack asked pointing at Xander.

"Well, what do you say about that Little Nicky? We both got to take our first Stargate trip together! Just think, we'll be sitting round the bar, drinking beers… or milk I guess in your case, and we'll say… 'I remember the day – ' of course I'm sure you will be a whole lot more eloquent." Xander was rambling to the baby trying to keep himself and the baby distracted from the men with guns.

"Yeah, about that, we'd rather discuss this in private." Daniel said quietly.

O'Neill gave Xander and Daniel a weird look before shrugging and heading off to the briefing room.

"… and later on I'm gonna kick your Pappy and Uncle Teal'c's butts for not telling me this was a military installation." He said in that calm and soothing voice grown-ups use.

Daniel winced. "Sorry, Teal'c and I aren't part of the American military, we don't usually think of ourselves as a military outpost, more of an exploration base."

"We are often attacked though through the Stargate." Teal'c noted.

"Way to make me feel safer Teal'c!" Xander said glumly.

Teal'c and Daniel dropped off their gear and joined the rest of SG1, General Hammond, Xander, Sha're and Nicky in the briefing room.

"Doctor Jackson, as pleased as I am that you found your wife, why did you feel the need to bring home a stray?" The General asked.

"Hey!" Xander objected. "I am not a stray. Just a little stranded."

"General, Xander claims to be an American." Daniel said.

"Yeah, any chance I could use a phone, need to tell my friends I'm back on Earth." Xander asked, Nicky sleeping peacefully in his arms.

"I'm afraid that's impossible, this is a top secret installation, no one can know about it." General Hammond told him sternly.

"Well, I know about it, my friends are going to know about it. You guys obviously know about it." Xander argued.

"I am afraid that until you can be trusted not to speak of this program, and until we can verify your claim that you are an American citizen, you will be held in this facility, under guard." Hammond said.

Xander posed a severe threat to the security of the base, the fact that he left the planet by means other than the Stargate meant that a possible threat existed to the planet.

"Ok, that's not good. I have friends waiting for me. My boss won't be pleased. And there are several thousand Jaffa who are gonna be pissed when they find out I'm a prisoner." Xander frowned. "Besides, it's not like you can keep me here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked.

"How exactly do you think I got to that planet?" Xander asked.

That caused Jack to pause.

"Look, bottom line is, that I em_need/em_ to get home. I will also be travelling between planets often. I need to spend some time with my Jaffa and make sure they are alright. I intend to bring Kasuf here to visit Sha're and his grandson. And apparently I need to go visit some guys called the Nox."

"Grandson?" Carter exclaimed.

"All the things he said and that's what you focused on?" Jack asked in bemusement. He then turned to Daniel. "Daniel, care to fill us in?"

Daniel pulled Sha're closer into his arms.

"Sha're was… impregnated by Apophis." He said stiffly. "The child is the union of two Goa'uld. Sha're and I have claimed him as our own."

"And a finer pair of parents I've yet to meet. But I'm still gonna kick your dad's butt later." Xander told the sleeping child softly.

"We'll table that discussion for later, for now we need to deal with the fact that Mr Harris here is threatening to bring offworlders onto the planet without authorisation." Hammond said trying to control his temper.

"Who's threatening? And why would I need authorisation? It's not like I'm gonna bring him to the base. I'll take him to see Sha're." Xander asked in confusion.

"Xander has proven himself adept at defeating the Goa'uld with little more than a command. I believe the people of the Tau'ri should be seeking an alliance with him." Teal'c said. "He is after all essentially a System Lord."

"WHAT!" Jack screamed backing away quickly. Carter and Hammond doing the same. "You brought a freaking Goa'uld back to the SGC?"

"Jack, he's a System Lord because he usurped another System Lord and claimed his holdings, not because he's a Goa'uld." Daniel said rolling his eyes.

Jack looked suspiciously at Daniel and Teal'c.

"If you guys wake up Little Nicky… I'm gonna be pissed." Xander said sternly.

"Little Nicky?" Jack asked. "You call him a nickname based on a character that was the son of the devil?"

"Huh?" Xander said. "I call him Little Nicky because Daniel named him Nicholas and… he's small."

"Right, remind me to show you the movie sometime." Jack muttered.

"Can we em_please/em_ stay on track people." Hammond practically begged. "Are you seriously telling us that this teenager has the holdings and authority of a Goa'uld System Lord." He asked Teal'c.

"More so that he commands their respect, as opposed to their fear. He defeated Heru'ur, Apophis' sworn enemy, they were evenly matched in war." Teal'c amended.

Hammond sat back. This was one hell of a mess. A teenage civilian with an army and the ability to travel off world and bring others back.

"I need to call the President." Hammond said.

"Of the United States?" Xander asked with excitement.

General Hammond just looked at him for a moment then marched off rubbing his temple.

The rest of SG1 was also staring at him.

"What? Not like I know the President, it's a big deal!" Xander said defensively.

"So where are you from?" Jack asked, figuring he might as well try and pump the kid for info.

"California." Xander answered.

"Where in California?" Jack said rolling his eyes.

"Let me make my phone call and you'll find out." Xander said with a knowing smile.

"Yeah sure, you betcha." Jack muttered.

"How did you beat two Goa'ulds?" Sam asked.

"Pretty much told them to leave their hosts. The rest is history." Xander shrugged.

"No, seriously. How, we have trouble taking out one Goa'uld and you take out two in two days?" Jack said. "We really need to know how you do it."

"Like I said, I told them to leave their hosts." Xander repeated.

"It is true O'Neill. I witnessed it myself." Teal'c said.

"And I remember it too when he freed me." Sha're offered hesitantly.

"Why do you need to see the Nox?" Daniel asked, seemingly desperate for an answer.

"Training. My boss said they were gonna train me." Xander said.

"In what?" Jack asked.

"Something about communing with nature. I don't know the specifics." Xander said.

The General entered from his office at that moment.

"Mr Harris, can you explain why someone managed to call for you on the em_Presidents/em_ private phone?" He asked. "Someone who tended to swear a lot and was very demanding about having you come home before the world ends?"

"Crap, something must have happened." Xander said as he stood up and handed Nicky over to Sha're. "Sorry guys I'm gonna have to run for now. I'll be back tomorrow though. Teal'c make sure you guys sort out the fake death thing for Sha're and Nicky." Xander told the hulking Jaffa.

Teal'c inclined his head.

"Ok, this is gonna be the first time I do this un-supervised." Xander said as he visualised Giles' house and vanished.

"On the bright side he did say he'd be back tomorrow." Jack commented as they all stared at the empty space.

"Ok, just so we're clear… the Judge is fully assembled and nearly ready to toast the town and Angel's gone to the dark side?" Xander asked as the group sat around the library table.

Xander had donned his armour when he appeared at Giles' house and from there went to the library. He was now finding out that Angel had gone bad and an impossible to kill jigsaw puzzle demon was loose.

"That would seem to be an accurate summation of our current situation." Giles agreed as he walked towards the group from the counter.

"Now, why exactly did he go bad?" Cordelia asked.

"He lost his soul." Buffy responded despondently.

"Yeah, but how is the big question." Church asked from the chair next to Xander.

"Yes, I have to agree we need to figure out how this happened. Buffy, you were with him last, what happened?" Giles inquired.

Buffy suddenly looked very worried, like a cornered animal.

"Why would I know? Not like it's my fault. Could be any reason he lost his soul." She rambled.

"Normally such arguments would be quite valid Buff." Xander told her. "But considering you look ready to bolt I'm gonna have to say you know more than your telling."

Buffy looked at the array of faces as they all nodded, except Oz, who looked like he had just had an epiphany. Xander still wasn't clear as to why the lead guitarist of Dingo's Ate My Baby was there, but figured it could wait.

"You slept with him." He stated quietly yet confidently.

Buffy just ducked her head and refused to look up.

A range of responses occurred from Giles' 'Good Lord' to Cordelia's 'EWW'.

Then they got quiet for a while.

"I wonder how he got it up?" Came Willow's quiet pondering from next to Oz.

Everyone turned to stare at her as Willow turned bright red as she realised she had vocalised her thought.

"I just mean, he's a vampire, dead body, no heart beat, an erection requires blood flow, no heart beat no blood flow." She babbled to a standstill.

There was more silence.

"Willow, you are my most favourite person at the moment." Church chuckled.

"I'm afraid Buffy, we are going to need more details in order to establish what could have caused Angel to loose his soul… by your silence you have as much as admitted you slept with him. I'm afraid, we need to know how this happened." Giles said kindly.

"What! Why?" She said appalled.

"As Willow pointed out Buffy, vampires just can't… perform." Jenny said gently. "If Angel managed to… perform… it might mean there is much more to him… figuratively speaking." She couldn't help but blush.

Everyone looked expectantly at Buffy.

Buffy sighed. "He used his mouth and I used my fingers." She babbled quickly, trying to get it out like you pull off a band aid.

Silence once again reigned as the Scoobies tried to wrap their minds around this information.

"Huh." All eyes turned to Cordelia.

"You figured something out Cordy?" Xander asked.

"Oh, not really. I just realised that technically she's still a virgin." Everyone just looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "By the Bill Clinton standard that is."

Whilst the Americans in the room desperately tried not to laugh or spontaneously combust with embarrassment, Giles could be heard to mutter quietly about bloody Americans and what they teach them these days.

Jenny cleared her throat authoritatively as she masterfully forced down a grin.

"Ok, Angel's turned to Angelus and The Judge is ready to roll. What do we do."

"Anybody else thinking we grab a tactical nuke and head for Hawaii?" Xander joked.

"Unfortunately I doubt that would work, many parts of the missile or device might be forged, and as such may render it useless."

"Right, cause the uselessness of the weapon is the reason why we should use it in the middle of a town full of civilians." Willow said patronizingly.

"Err… yes of course." Giles said cleaning his glasses distractedly.

"So bottom line is, weapons forged by man won't kill him but a Slayer and an army hacked him to pieces… any chance he'll stand still for us?" Church asked.

"No weapon forged? So if we found a weapon that wasn't forged by man it would work?" Xander asked thoughtfully.

"That would be the most reasonable assumption." Giles confirmed.

"Magical weapons?" Jenny asked.

"Might work, but we just don't have the time to summon one." He responded.

Xander stood up and headed for the door.

"Xander, where are you going?" Willow called out.

"Huh?" He asked absently. "Oh, I had an idea, just need to go and check something out. Back in an hour." He said as he wandered out.

Everyone just stared as the door swung shot.

"Weirdo." Cordelia muttered.

"Ok, people all sorted." Xander called out as he strolled into the library half an hour later in full Spartan armour. "The judge is toasted and currently floating out to sea. G-Man, you might want to store this somewhere em_really/em_ safe though."

Xander dropped a carrier bag on the table with a thud.

"Xander, is what I think is in that bag… in that bag?" Ms Calendar asked.

"If you think it's the head of the Judge… that would be an icky 'yes'" Buffy squealed as she closed the back and backed away quickly wiping her hands on Giles who was too gobsmacked to notice.

"What – How – Who – When…" Giles stuttered.

"Truly eloquent G-Man… its clear now why you're the librarian." Xander quipped.

"Xander!" Giles snapped.

"Fine, I snuck into the warehouse and stabbed Pappa Smurf with a stake." Xander summarised.

Everyone just stared at him.

"You want more details?" Xander asked.

They just nodded dumbly.

"How did they take out the Judge last time?"

"It took a slayer and an army." Willow answered having regained control of her stomach after glimpsing the head. "They dismembered him."

"Using what?"

"Based on the time period, swords, spears, arrows." Giles said absently, still staring at the head in a bag.

"One last question before I tell you how it worked." Xander promised. "Buff, your out patrolling, you have your trusty stake. You've already dusted several vamps. This huge demon, some 7ft tall, horns, tail… skin so thick it looks like stone. What do you do?"

"Find a better weapon… or run away." She answered quickly.

"The thing is, you didn't even try the stake." He pointed out. "My guess is no one thought about wood because the Judge looked like he was impenetrable. I figured that all I needed to do was apply the Jaws logic to the Judge."

Everyone just smiled knowingly having caught on.

"I'm sorry, what is the 'Jaws logic'?"

Except the culturally challenged Giles.

"'We're gonna need a bigger boat.'" Oz quoted.

"Instead of looking for a different type of weapon, I found a bigger version of what I had." Xander explained.

"Surely that wasn't all there was to it?" Giles argued.

"Well, there is a bit more." Xander allowed. "I didn't want to take any unnecessary chances, so I realised that stakes, could technically be argued as being 'forged by man', so I went to the source, found a nice tree and broke off a hefty branches till I got one with a point.

"I then snuck in with my invisibility and rammed my natural spike through his heart and up into his brain.

"I kinda realised that if I had gone down the other way instead… it would have been easier.

"But, his head popped off so that was good… gross… but good.

"Seeing me there holding a freakin' huge stake and the Judge's head some 4 inches off his body… the vamps made tracks.

"I dragged the Judge up to Kingman's Bluff, grabbed another couple of trees and pounded his body into little pieces and threw them out to sea.

"Then I picked up the head and brought it back here." Xander finished his tale.

"So… no more Judge?" Cordelia asked hopefully.

"Nope… just Spike, Drusilla and Angelus." Xander affirmed.

Xander spent the night on Giles' couch. He hadn't slept much on Sha're's planet and he really needed his sleep.

Giles was hardly surprised to find a small cat curled up on his couch in the morning. Xander had claimed that catnaps truly were the best way to sleep.

Giles let the boy lay in, he deserved it after eliminating the judge based on fore-thought as opposed to hitting it till it died, although he had done some of that as well.

Xander's lay in didn't last long as Buffy, Willow, Cordelia and Oz all turned up on Giles' doorstep demanding Xander tell them what he'd been up to.

"Come on, didn't Gaia tell you about it?" Xander moaned.

"Just the basics." Willow said.

"Alright, look. I've gotta head over to Colorado for the day, but tomorrow I should be free. I'll see if I can introduce you to my godson as well." Xander said before vanishing.

"Oh, he is so gonna get it when he gets back." Buffy fumed.


	8. Chapter 8

Xander popped into the SGC briefing room to find SG1 and General Hammond in a heated discussion with an old thin guy in a suit and another guy in Airforce blues.

Needless to say they were all a bit shocked when Xander just appeared.

"Jeeze kid, don't you make a noise when you do that?" Jack said clutching at his heart.

"Why?" Xander shrugged.

"Xander you have to do something, they are threatening to take Sha're and Nicholas away." Daniel said clearly distressed.

"Where is Sha're now?" Xander asked.

"The former host to the Goa'uld Ammonet is being held in a cell on this base. The spawn of two Goa'ulds is being prepared for transport." The thin guy said importantly. "And who do you think you are that you can just come and go on American property as you please?"

"An American citizen." Xander said as he vanished.

The thin guy just stared at the empty spot.

"Huh, got a response for that Kinsey?" Jack asked smugly.

"Where did he go?" Lieutenant Colonel Samuels asked.

"Probably to see to Sha're and Nicholas." Daniel said absently, he was hoping his wife and son were ok. Daniel still surprised himself that he instinctively thought of Nicholas as _his_ son.

Xander appeared back in the briefing room.

"Daniel, no worries. Sha're and Nicholas are safe and sound and I'll take you to them once we're finished here." Xander assured the worried husband.

"Now as for you, you slimy bastard." Xander said angrily rounding on Kinsey. "What's the big idea kidnapping innocent women and children?"

"There is nothing innocent about that woman or her… child." Kinsey said practically spitting the word 'child'.

Kinsey suddenly found himself staring up at the ceiling.

"How did I get down here?" He asked bewilderedly, his jaw was very painful.

"Xander hit you." Daniel said practically bouncing with joy. Teal'c looked particularly smug.

"You insult my family again and me hitting you will seem like a trip to heaven." Xander said angrily.

"Sha're Jackson and her son Nicholas Xander Jackson are under my personal protection as Nicholas is my godson." Xander said looking Kinsey in the eye.

"And if you think I am no threat, then remember that there are thousands of Jaffa out there with big ships and guns that get very angry if I'm not happy." He growled.

"Now then," Xander purposefully turned away from the man still lying on the floor, "Teal'c have we come up with a plan for faking Sha're's death."

"We are not finished, young man." Kinsey shouted rising to his feet. "The United States of America does not deal with monsters and terrorists. We do not shy away from threats either."

"And yet they were dumb enough to hire you." Xander glared. "General, why is this moron here?"

"After my report to the President, Senator Kinsey here got wind of it and determined that Sha're and Nicholas were too important not to be exploited. He also demanded that we capture you and attempt to take control of your armies."

"General Hammond you have just given classified information to the enemy. You will spend the rest of your life behind bars." The senator raved.

"I highly doubt that." Xander muttered. "So what were you planning on doing with my armies once you had them?"

"They would be used to defend the United States and Earth." He declared.

"And what about the people and planets that my armies are currently protecting?"

"They are not our concern." Kinsey stated dismissively.

"So you would leave them to be enslaved and brutalised by another Goa'uld?" Xander asked as he paced.

"Like I said, they are not our concern."

Xander turned to the General.

"Ok, my parents are drunks that can't remember what day it is let alone to go out and vote. So I know they didn't vote for him, who did?" Xander asked pleadingly.

General Hammond suppressed a smirk as the senator fumed.

Fortunately for Jack, who was about to start cheering, the alarms went off as an unscheduled wormhole was announced.

Colonel O'Neill left to investigate and shortly returned.

"General, there's a Jaffa on the horn asking to speak with Lord Xander." Jack said with a smirk.

"Man that makes me sound like a comic book villain." Xander grumbled. "May I General?" Xander asked politely.

"Of course I'll show you the way." Hammond said realising the young man would just vanish anyway if he didn't.

"General I forbid you to grant this boy access to our technology." Kinsey ordered.

"General, I don't want you in trouble, I'll be back in a few minutes." Xander said as he vanished.

"Why didn't you stop him!" Kinsey raged.

"How exactly?" Hammond asked.

Xander suddenly reappeared.

"Sorry, need to borrow Daniel for a while." He said vanishing with the bespectacled archaeologist.

Daniel suddenly found himself standing on the bridge of Xander's ship. Xander just pointed to Sha're and Nicholas who were huddled on the throne looking slightly bewildered.

Daniel quickly made his way over to his wife and son, hugging and kissing like there was no tomorrow.

"Daniel, what is happening?" Sha're asked tearfully.

"Someone found out about you and wanted to take you away and hurt you and use you. Xander came back in time to save you." Daniel said angrily.

"What will happen to us?" Sha're asked. "First your people and now Apophis has returned for us."

"Apophis is here!" Daniel said fearfully.

"No, the Jaffa drove them back."

Daniel sighed in relief.

"Sha're, whatever happens I want you to go where Xander says. I believe he can and will protect you and Nicholas." He said stroking the baby's cheek.

"What of you? Will you be safe now amongst your own people?" Sha're asked.

"I don't know, whilst Apophis is still out there searching for you I can't rest. Xander may have a solution." Daniel said hugging Sha're closely.

Xander went straight to Sayel as they appeared on the ship pointing Sha're out to Daniel.

"Sayel, you called." Xander asked.

Sayel took a moment to collect himself as he was unused to people appearing out of thin air.

"My Lord, Apophis arrived through the Chaapa-ai, he had two bodyguards with him. We ordered him to leave, they opened fire and we returned fire." Sayel reported.

"Damn." Xander muttered. "Well done, were there any injuries?"

"No my lord, the encounter was short as Apophis activated the Chaapa-ai and retreated." Sayel said somewhat proudly.

"Send my congratulations to the men who were there." Xander said with a smile.

Xander was worried. They got lucky this time, a small number easily repelled. Next time they could come in force.

"Sayel, does this ship a cargo bay that can be isolated and the contents ejected into space?" Xander asked, a thought occurring.

"Yes my lord, they operate the same way the Death Glider Bays work by allowing objects to enter and exit but maintaining gravity and atmosphere."

"Ok, I'm thinking that having that Chaapa-ai on the planet in a tiny room is not a good thing. Someone throws a bomb through and… well, we won't be around to complain.

"I want you to arrange to move the Stargate into the cargo bay and clear out the cargo, we will use it as a secure area for the gate. If we are attacked through it we can eject the Stargate into space." Xander suggested.

"An ingenious plan My Lord, but this will require us to maintain an orbit around the planet as the… Stargates are linked to planets."

"Ok, hopefully that won't be a problem, if we have scientists, have them look at ways of improving the idea. I am gonna head back to Earth, I'll return later. Take Daniel and his family to my chambers, make sure they're settled in for me?" Xander requested,

"Of course my lord."

Xander gave the formidable warrior a smile and turned round to let Daniel know he was off, unfortunately he found himself standing in the SGC briefing room.

Xander was trying to figure out if he had teleported himself when he heard Kinsey shout.

"Is there no security in this place! Why aren't you apprehending the intruders?" He roared.

Xander looked around and noticed the remainder of SG1 and General Hammond along with Kinsey and Samuels.

It was the three additional people that surprised Xander.

Gaia, a tall man with a sour look and a young woman in a tutu and silver jacket.

Xander didn't know how he knew, but he just dropped to his knees and buried his face in the ground.

Gaia smiled at her Champions actions. Despite his average IQ he had a way of figuring things out.

The rest of the assembled humans just stared at Xander in confusion.

The tall man spoke up. "Well it seems that Alexan-oof" The tutu wearing women elbowed him in the stomach. "I mean Xander, has figured out who is here and the correct response. It's a good job She's very forgiving."

The other humans just looked confused, Xander however just kept his face in the ground.

"Who the hell do you think you are, that you can just waltz in to a military base on a whim." Kinsey demanded.

By this point, Teal'c had decided that anyone who Xander felt was worthy enough to kneel down too was some one he should be kneeling to. So he followed suit dragging Hammond and O'Neil down by their elbows.

"Smart move Teal'c." Gaia said with a smile.

"I demand to know who you are." Kinsey said.

"I am Gaia, goddess of this universe, the tall man is the Metatron, the voice of God." Gaia introduced purposefully not introducing the other person.

Kinsey was nothing if not predictable.

"There is only one God and I know its not you. Who is she?" Kinsey said in disgust.

"God." Gaia said smugly.

"Nice setup." The Metatron muttered. "You have been spouting off about how America is one nation under God, blessed by God and so on." The Metatron said angrily. "So God is here to tell you that you are annoying her, you are on par with religious fanatics who go around killing people in the name of God.

"Personally I would send you to Hell and be done with you, but luckily for you, it's not up to me.

"Unfortunately you are too stupid and closed minded to realise that this really is God, so we aren't going to try and prove it. We are here to let the SGC know that Xander is needed in the universe and they should support his work.

"Also… and you better take note of this you pathetic little worm, Xander has free reign to handle you anyway he sees fit. Even to the point of killing you."

The Metatron turned away from Kinsey and faced the other humans. "You heard the message. You've been doing a good job, so far. Unfortunately things are going to get worse before they get better, so Xander in his role as Champion of Gaia, is to fight with you. Try and get along."

Having delivered his message, the Metatron stepped back behind the tutu wearing woman.

The woman stepped over to the prostrate Xander and bent down, helping him to rise.

She lifted his head and looked in his eyes, then embraced him tightly, whispering in his ear.

She stepped back, she and the Metatron vanished.

Gaia stepped up to Kinsey.

"You are a real nuisance, like an annoying bug. We have work to do and I won't have you interfering with it." And Kinsey vanished.

Gaia looked around and noted that the other humans including Samuels were still prostrate on the floor.

Xander had this goofy smile on his face and tears streaming down his cheeks. He was practically a statue.

"You can rise now." Gaia said as she led Xander to sit at the table. He was somewhat stiff in his movements, like he had forgotten how to move.

The others got up and sat down quietly at the table.

"Was that really God?" Jack eventually asked, his voice unusually reverent.

"It was. Normally she wouldn't come down to Earth and interfere so obviously, but she has a soft spot for Xander. Most of us do." She said smiling at the still oblivious Xander.

"How come she didn't speak?" Sam asked, her natural curiosity coming back.

"No human can hear the voice of God without suffering a very painful death. Hence the need for the Metatron." Gaia said. "And before you ask, Xander is a bit more than human these days. Comes with being my Champion."

"Xander?" Gaia gently. "Come on, wakey wakey!"

Xander gradually blinked and slowly shook his head.

"Hi!" He said with a goofy grin.

"Hey Xander." Gaia returned with a pleased smile. "Glad your back, I know you just had a great experience, but we need to get back to work."

Xander sighed resignedly.

"Yeah, Daniel and Sha're are gonna be curious about what's happening."

"They're ok?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, they're on my ship on Abydos." Xander said.

Xander scratched his head. There was a lot going on in there at the moment. But the world was putting blocks in his way preventing him from acting on them.

"General, if I have to I will kill Kinsey. I will not put my friends, family and people at risk. I need to know whether the President and the United States is going to be taking the same route as Kinsey. I am happy and eager to form an alliance… a very close alliance between my people and the Earth. But not by putting them at risk."

Hammond was still dealing with the shock of meeting the Almighty. He knew Kinsey was pretty much a racist. He would rather nuke the rest of the world than live with them.

He was fairly certain that Kinsey was borderline psychotic.

Which gave him an idea.

"I believe the President would prefer an alliance." He said slowly. "Kinsey found out about the Stargate program and has tried to shut it down several times. He is a thorn in the Presidents side as much as ours."

"I don't suppose you sent him to another planet?" Jack asked hopefully.

"No, I sent him to a forest somewhere in the country." Gaia groused wishing she could do more.

"And you're the goddess of the universe?" Sam asked.

"God created the heavens and the earth, and she wanted to share the wealth. Hence angels, gods and humans." Gaia said with a little flourish and a smile.

"And Xander is your Champion?" Jack asked.

"Yep. The position was always there, but never filled. One day God pointed out Xander as an ideal choice."

"Ok, let me go call the President and explain the situation. Hopefully he won't have me locked away in the insane asylum." The General muttered.

"So how did you get involved in this?" Jack asked.

Xander looked at Gaia who just shrugged.

"I got caught up in the fight against vampires and demons." Xander decided short and sweet would be best. Well, short anyway.

"You fight those freaks!" Jack asked in shock.

Meanwhile Carter was looking at Xander like he was nuts. O'Neill's outburst was too much.

"Sir you can't seriously be suggesting there are mythical creatures out there?" She argued.

"Yes I can!" He returned petulantly.

"So far you've been confronted by aliens, gods, angels and you've stood in the presence of The Almighty… and you're having trouble with demons and vampires?" Xander asked with a bemused smile.

Carter had the sense to look sheepish and clam up.

"Was there a problem on your ship Xander?" Teal'c asked.

"Ship? Oh, right, forgot all about that." Xander said having been overwhelmed by a message from God. "Apophis came looking for Sha're, my boys beat him back." Xander said proudly.

"Everyone ok?" Jack asked.

"Yep, Sayel said there were no injuries. We're gonna implement some special procedures though to make it safer. We're gonna put the Stargate in the cargo bay, that way its off the planet, if we get an influx of bad guys we can evacuate the bay and flush the whole damn thing into space." Xander said with glee.

"That's…" Sam was lost for words.

"Amazing?" Jack offered.

"Yeah, and so simple." Sam agreed.

"Yep, that's why he's my Champion." Xander looked at Gaia with mock hurt. "The amazing part not the simple!" She amended quickly.

"Tell you what, go tell the General to tell the President that as an act of good will, I will supply you with an old or repairable ship that you can use for the same purpose. If you want I'll have it crewed by some Jaffa to help maintain and repair and teach you the technology." Xander said.

"That's another reason, he's got a good heart."

Jack was running to the door when Xander called out.

"And tell him I might have plans and technology that Earth can start with straight away."

Sam watched, Jack scamper off like a puppy thrown a bone.

"You do realise you may have just made his year?" Sam asked. "Actually he's likely to be insufferable for the next few months."

Xander grinned sheepishly.

"Tell you what Captain-"

"Please, just Sam will do." She offered.

"Cool," Xander smiled, "Next time you get some downtime or things get quiet, you can come to my hometown and I'll show you a vampire. Just check with me first that we're not dealing with some major evil." Xander told her.

"Eh, thanks." Sam said uncertainly.

"Xander I'm going to go and check on Sha're and Nicholas. Need to make sure our godson is behaving." Gaia said with a grin as she vanished.

"Gaia, the goddess of the universe is Daniel's son's godmother?" Sam asked in shock and awe.

"She did that on purpose." Xander grumbled.

Fortunately for Xander, Jack and the General emerged from the office. Jack was practically dancing.

"Lord Xander, on behalf of the President of the United States I formally accept your offer of an alliance and am authorised to negotiate with you on any and all matters." Hammond said officiously.

"Erm, then may we both enjoy many years of friendship and camaraderie?" Xander said feeling he should respond formally.

"I'll be sure to clean that up in my memoirs." The General grinned.

Xander returned the grin.

"Right, so I need to go talk to Sayel about scrounging up a ship. Also I need to see if he has a way to contact me if he needs me. You guys better take my number too, just in case." Xander muttered more to himself.

"Ask Sayel for a handheld communications device, it will enable him to contact you in emergency." Teal'c suggested.

"Cool, thanks Teal'c." Xander said. "Is it safe for the Sha're and Nicky to come back?"

"If they come as part of your entourage and estate then they will have diplomatic immunity." Hammond said.

"Excellent. Look, I have an Earth bound problem that I can't fix. I am only 17, my parents are abusive drunks. Is there anything you can do to help me out?" Xander asked deciding that he really needed to sort this issue out.

There were a few looks shared between SG1's human members.

"Can you not challenge your parents for your freedom?" Teal'c asked.

"He'd still be considered a child by the state." Sam explained. "I suppose we could argue for emancipation, you'd need someone to sponsor you and to live with."

"Ask Rupert Giles and Joyce Summers." Gaia said appearing with the Jacksons in tow.

"They have plenty to deal with, I'm already taking up most of Giles' basement." Xander argued.

"They both think of you as their son and will hate themselves when they find out about your home life." Gaia countered. "Now, Sayel asked me to give you this and asked that you keep it close."

"A handheld communications device." Teal'c noted as Gaia handed Xander the small silver globe.

"Teal'c, would you show it to him whilst the General and I discuss arrangements for Xander's emancipation?"

Teal'c bowed low and led Xander to a corner where they contacted Sayel.

Xander soon discovered that Sayel had finished relocating the Stargate. He also happened to know of a ship and crew that had returned victorious from battle but with heavy casualties. They would soon be heading to Earth. They decided to not fake Sha're and Nicky's death's, Xander would just smite Apophis when he saw him.

"Xander, we've come up with a plan." Hammond said as Xander and Teal'c returned to the table. Jack and Daniel had escorted Sha're and Nicholas to the infirmary for a feed and a change.

"Mrs Summers will be asked to take custody of you, that means you live with her. Mr Giles, who is not an American citizen and as such not eligible to take you, will provide financial support. Gaia says he gets his money from your endeavours anyway." The General added as Xander started to protest.

Xander just shrugged in acceptance.

"There are a few issues that will need to be addressed." Hammond said. "Mrs Summers knows nothing about vampires and demons, and she will have to be briefed on them and the Stargate. It just isn't feasible for you to live under her roof and expect her to accept that you have to rush off at all times and not come back for a few days."

"Joyce is a good woman who will understand and be supportive, if a little angry, about your situation." Gaia assured Xander.

"Angry?" Sam asked.

"Her daughter being chosen to fight vampires against her will. Xander was given a choice so she will accept that a little easier."

"You do realise Buffy will kill me?" Xander asked.

"That girl needs to get a grip." Gaia scoffed.

"Buffy?" Hammond asked.

"Mrs Summers daughter and Xander's one time romantic crush." Gaia said.

"One time?" Teal'c asked.

"I'd rather not say." Xander said glumly.

"She dated and slept with a vampire."

"But apparently Gaia will." Xander sighed dryly.

Hammond had a look of disgust on his face.

"I am unclear as to what a vampire is?" Teal'c inquired.

"Better ask Jack or Daniel." Hammond suggested.

Xander suddenly snorted a laugh.

"Sorry, just thinking about them, Jack and Daniel or Jack Daniel's." Xander explained.

"Believe me those two can drive a man to drink." The General said with a wry grin.

Xander and Sam just laughed at that.


	9. Chapter 9

Joyce had finished up a hard day at the office. Running an art gallery wasn't all about displaying pieces of art for people to gawp at. No, it was about providing a point of contact for people looking to buy or sell art. Dealing with buyers could be a pain. Dealing with artists was a nightmare. At least they paid well.

Some days she just wished she could retire and move to somewhere that really appreciated art.

Having just put the kettle on the doorbell rang.

Seeing Xander flanked by Buffy's new friend Gaia and a man in uniform was not what she was expecting.

As much as she couldn't… didn't want to believe that the fun loving boy that had befriended her daughter was in trouble… the evidence wasn't looking good.

"Xander, Gaia, what's going on?" Joyce asked trying… and failing, to not sound suspicious.

"You know Gaia?" Xander asked in shock.

"Of course, she and Willow have been out with Buffy most nights the past week." Joyce said as if it was obvious.

"Oh reeeeally." Xander drawled as he gave Gaia the evil eye.

Gaia for her part was trying to look inconspicuous and innocent.

"Right, well then. As you know Mrs Summers so well, you can make with the introductions and explanations." Xander said smugly.

Gaia, the Goddess of the Universe and its various times and realities, caved.

"Fine." She groused. "Joyce, this is General George Hammond of the United States Air Force. We have some things we need to discuss with you about Xander."

"Come in then." She sighed. Causing Xander and Gaia to wince.

After about an hours discussion that was filled with disbelief, denial, accusations, Xander performing like a circus animal and a trip to a space ship, Joyce decided that she had no choice but to believe every word that her three guests had said.

Xander was the Champion of the Goddess of the Universe.

Gaia is said goddess.

Xander had acquired a fleet and several planets.

Her daughter was a vampire slayer.

Xander was the cutest cat that ever meowed.

And her daughter was a vampire slayer.

"Ok, I am far from comfortable with the idea of my daughter fighting demonic beings, but I assume that grounding her would not be helpful?" Joyce asked.

"Not really. I discovered a way to eliminate most of the vampires created in Sunnydale so patrols tend to have few encounters. Though they are pretty tough ones." Xander said.

That did not alleviate Joyce's anxiety.

"Mrs Summers,-"

"Joyce, please." She corrected the General.

"George then." The General responded in kind. "There is a very specific reason we are telling you this. Xander's home life is… "

"In humane." Gaia supplied.

"Indeed, it won't be possible for him to stay at his parent's home and continue his duties for Gaia and his people. At the same time he is underage. We were hoping that you would be willing to take responsibility for him as a guardian."

"Of course." Joyce said immediately. "Why didn't you ever say anything Xander?"

Xander for his part was looking rather sheepish and depressed.

"He was afraid he would be taken away from Willow." Gaia answered for him, knowing that Xander wouldn't talk about it.

"Apparently Mr Giles manages Xander's financial endeavours, so he will help with financial support." George offered. "Not to mention that as Xander will be acting as a form of freelancer and consultant with my command, he will be paid accordingly."

This was news to Xander.

"Ok, give it straight to Mrs Summers then, not like I actually need the money personally." Xander said.

"Xander, if you're going to live here please learn to call me Joyce, 'Mrs Summers' is such a mouthful." Joyce chided.

At this point in time Buffy Summers decided to come home.

Buffy took one look at the General in full dress uniform and asked.

"Wasn't your birthday two months ago mom?" At which point Joyce went red, George froze and Xander and Gaia burst out laughing.

Joyce quickly composed herself.

"No dear, General Hammond and Gaia were just explaining about Xander's duties and your night time activities." She said sweetly.

Buffy looked in disbelief between the four occupants. Choosing someone to blame was a job that required careful consideration, finesse, class-

"XANDER!" That or you pick the only viable target that can't arrest you, smite you or ground you.

"How could you let them do this!" Buffy wailed reaching near supersonic frequencies.

"Buffy do grow up." Joyce said rallying to Xander's defence. "He was dragged into this practically kicking and screaming, complaining about how you were going to blame him.

"You've had plenty of chances to tell me yourself and I am sure between you and Mr Giles you could have arranged proof." Joyce said before Buffy could start up. "Of course it would be pretty hard to top Xander's space ship, but still."

"Hold up," Buffy interrupted her mother whilst fixing Xander with a glare that would scare the Master. "Not only did you tell my mother about em_my_ _secret/em_ identity, but you took her to your space ship before me?" She asked in glacial tones.

Xander cleared his throat. "Joyce, I know you're trying to help, but could you quit whilst my limbs are still attached?"

Buffy was shortly chewed out and praised in the space of five minutes by her mother. She was seriously confused.

Hammond decided that his job was done and as such should probably leave them to sort themselves out.

"Joyce, Buffy, its been a pleasure and honour to meet you two. But, I need to get back to the base and make sure my 2IC hasn't started playing his Simpsons collection on all the monitors."

"Jack?" Xander asked, receiving a nod.

"2IC?" Buffy asked.

"Second in command." Hammond explained. Buffy's face turned to one of realisation.

"George, don't you need us to sign any documents saying we won't talk about this?" Joyce asked.

"Ordinarily, yes. But Xander is considered a foreign dignitary and has diplomatic immunity. As part of his family and members of his estate the diplomatic status extends to you. I'll be back in a few days with someone from the State Department to explain it in more detail."

George and Xander both stood and Xander put a hand on George's shoulder and they vanished.

George found himself back in the briefing room, which was empty.

"Many thanks Xander." Hammond said. "We'll keep an eye out for your ship and let you know when it reaches the solar system."

"Cool, thanks for this General."

"Call me George, at least when it's informal." He said kindly.

"I'll try." Xander said with a lopsided grin.

"Call me for any major problems, I probably shouldn't help with every minor problem, but earth shattering ones or ones with no other solution I can probably help with." Xander offered. "Also, I'll be back when my boys have put together a program for that Earth based tech."

"I'm sure Captain Carter will be thrilled."

"See ya later!" Xander said brightly as he vanished.


	10. Chapter 10

Xander left the General and headed back to Joyce and Buffy.

Where he was assaulted by the blond slayer who refused to let him up until the others arrived and he spilled the beans about his time away.

Joyce was in favour of this but warned that she would be having words with Mr Giles.

After the haranguing of the Watcher and the ordering of pizza, Xander regaled the assembled group which also included Cordelia and Oz now, with tales of his week on Abydos and his defeat of two demons and peaceful-ish, conquest of an army of Jaffa.

Not to mention his new role as godfather to Nicholas.

This prompted a demand that they be shown pictures from the female contingent.

Xander, not having had time to take find a camera, let alone take pictures, promised to talk to Sha're and Daniel about visiting.

Joyce then explained the visit from George, and a quick discussion with Giles to sort out some minor arrangements.

Xander decided turnabout was fair play and demanded that they tell him what went on during his absence.

He heard about Ted and the egg demons.

He was not surprised to hear that Willow and Church had commandeered O'Mally and the body to try and duplicate it for Church.

Joyce was shocked to hear that her ex was a psychopathic killer robot that attacked her daughter.

She apologised profusely to Buffy. Buffy forgave her as there was no way for to know without Buffy revealing her slayer side.

Apparently Ted was very life like and fully functional.

Buffy ran screaming from the room.

Giles informed Xander that he had introduced himself to the coroner as Xander's friend and let him know to contact them if they come across any unusual deaths or bodies.

Jeff was apparently eager to help. Thanks to Xander's idea his workload was down by a third.

The next few days for Xander were spent working with Sayel, the SGC, the Nox, Giles and Joyce.

Sayel gave him a run down of his holdings and about any possible points of weakness Heru'ur's enemies might try to exploit.

Xander and Delta worked with the SGC to figure out the best way to relocate the Stargate to the incoming ship.

Jack was on cloud nine when he saw Delta. He kept bugging Xander about seeing his armour and telling the story of how he got it. Jack was a Halo fan.

He was a bit disappointed by the technology Xander gave them.

"A Pelican?" He asked poutingly.

"Yeah, you've played the games? These things can transport troops and em_heavy/em_ armoured vehicles even into orbit. And we're not talking about the pansy arsed stuff we have now. I'm talking Scorpion tanks and even Elephants." Xander said excitedly.

"Besides, the point is that you build this and learn it, and then start to develop your own versions, incorporate tech from our world.

"I'll give you gear up to and including ODST kit. Nothing better than being stuck in a battle and your enemy is out-flanked by a squad of shock troopers dropping from the sky." Xander said in fond reminiscence.

"So no Spartans?" Jack asked in disappointment.

"No, Spartans require an alteration to the soldier. They are too expensive both money wise and in terms of men.

"Everything I give you, anyone will be able to use. I'll even give you Cyclops tech. Building killers and engineers in one."

"Engineers?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, heavy armoured engineers who can fix a tank in the middle of a battle. They can literally smash a building to pieces." Xander said excitedly.

"Once you guys get comfortable enough to build and use a Pelican without too many problems I'll give you the specs for a cruiser. I recommend you find a better FTL drive though unless you really want to spend months travelling in slipstream."

Sam however was boggling over the fact that the technology behind the UNSC was relatively simple.

Xander and Delta agreed that the ring system was unfeasible as it required the ship to maintain a visible orbit directly over the SGC.

As such, after a great deal of apologising, Captain Carter was saddled with Gamma, aka Gary. Who would help her recreate his teleportation technology which would allow them to transport over great distances and the ship could hide over the polar regions.

Sam couldn't understand what Xander was so sorry about, about two days later she was ranting about the blasted AI and its incessant knock knock jokes.

George also travelled over to see Joyce and sort out the diplomatic papers.

Gaia meanwhile had introduced him to the Nox. A strange people who seemed very peaceful, but at times very condescending. Even though they weren't trying to be. But being called 'very young' all the time does grate on your nerves.

They managed to get him started at feeling the vegetation and what it felt. But they seemed insistent on taking things very slow.

Gaia refused to comment or interfere.

Then there was Joyce and Giles. Fortunately for Giles, he and Jenny were getting much closer, despite the revelations about her true purpose. Apparently Church had had some harsh words with Giles and told him that if he didn't chase the woman then as far as he was concerned as soon as he got his body working he was gonna throw his hat in the ring.

After such an eloquent speech Giles felt he had no choice but to save Jenny for the machinations of the crazed AI.

Not that that's what he actually said to Jenny.

Church thoroughly enjoyed his act. Truth was he was still holding on to a slither of hope that he'd make it back to his world to find Tex.

Throughout all of this, Xander stumbled his way through school. It looked like he might pass the year with a solid B average.

Angel however was causing terror on the town.

People were dying left and right, but thanks to Xander and Jeff he wasn't gaining any minions.

Until he started hiding the bodies.

It meant less work for Jeff, but the missing persons reports went through the roof.

The following week things calmed down. The ship arrived and they were able to begin relocating the Stargate.

Sam was grateful to complete the teleporter. Gamma was hastily returned.

Xander had been moved into Joyce's house and his parents arrested.

Willow insisted on throwing a party that day.

Joyce still sat at home fretting over daughters patrols, but having seen what she and Xander could do she wasn't really worried.

She was terrified when she discovered that her daughter had slept with… sort of, a vampire and that the vampire had free reign in her house.

A de-invitation spell was drawn up in short order.

The following Monday brought with it a new revelation. A werewolf was in town.

Cordelia was stricken. Her date was a disaster. Her car was a wreck. And she had broken a nail.

Giles was in research heaven. The theories and possibilities had him running round the library like a headless chicken.

It culminated in a 10 minute presentation complete with models of planets.

Their mission was clear. They had to discover the identity of the werewolf and ascertain its intentions. They were breaking up and heading out as Oz walked in causing Xander to declare:

"It's Oz."

"I'm what?" He asked curiously.

"You're the werewolf." Xander explained.

"That would explain waking up naked in the woods this morning." He said with calm acceptance.

"Xander are you positive, and just how do you know?" Giles asked as the teens returned to their seats at the library table.

"Very positive, but I have no real idea as to how I know, other than I can… sense the wolf in him." Xander explained as best as he could.

"You can do this with all animals?" Giles pondered.

"Not really, I can communicate on various levels, but not sense them." Xander said.

"Did anyone… were there any… was anyone hurt?" Oz asked with difficulty.

"No, it appears you may have encountered Cordelia on her date but other than that you don't seem to have met with any other individuals." Giles assured the increasingly distraught young man.

"Is the book cage strong enough to hold… me?" Oz asked.

"Purposefully reinforced for occasions like this." Giles assured him with a soft smile. "I have a tranquiliser gun as well, so we will set up a watch for you for tonight."

"Cool." Oz said quietly.

"Do you know how it happened?" Buffy asked.

"Not sure, how are werewolves made?" Oz wondered.

"Traditionally it is thought that a simple bite from one werewolf to a victim will induce the change." Giles said.

"Even if they aren't in wolf form?" He queried.

"Of that I can't say, I simply don't have the information." Giles said apologetically.

"Mind if I use the phone?" Oz asked.

"Of course." Giles allowed.

Oz slowly made his way to the counter and dialled, all the while thinking that one day he might get loose and kill someone. He was trying desperately not to throw up.

After a very brief conversation with Oz's aunt which revealed through a very casual question and answer session of is "Jordy a werewolf", a thought occurred to Oz.

"Aunt Maureen, what precautions should I take? You know, locking myself up, any potions to make sure I don't go rampaging?" He asked still going for casual.

"…"

"Of course, yeah. Ok love to Uncle Ken."

"They don't lock themselves up at night do they?" Xander asked sadly as Oz made his quietly to the table.

Oz shook his head sadly. "They live on a farm, they grow crops. But there is a town nearby." Oz told them. "They apparently live by the motto 'Fair Game'."

"How old is your cousin?" Willow asked horrified.

"Two." Oz whispered.

Oz turned to Xander. "Help me save Jordy?"

"Absolutely." Xander said without hesitation.

"What about his parents?" Buffy asked.

"Buffy, unfortunately, Oz's Uncle and Aunt are murderers. Unlike Oz who, had he killed last night, would be innocent as he wasn't aware of what was happening." Giles told his slayer gently. "Xander, I would suggest you see what Gaia has to say on the matter, she may have some insight."

Xander nodded and quietly called out. "Gaia?"

"Hey, why so glum?" The goddess asked as she appeared in the library next to Willow.

Willow squeaked in surprise, fortunately bringing a smile to everyone's dour faces.

"A bell missy! For Christmas I am getting you a bell!" Willow said sternly.

"Cool, no ones ever given me a present before!" Gaia grinned happily.

"That's terrible!" Buffy said in horror.

"It's not a big deal, just the way it is." Gaia said. "Now, what had all of you so down before I came in to make you smile." Gaia said brightly.

"It's Oz." Xander said indicating his fellow male teen.

Gaia took one look at Oz and her eyebrows hit her hairline.

Gaia looked at the ceiling and said loudly. "Mysterious ways my arse!"

She was promptly drenched in water.

"Oooh!" She growled. "One day I'm gonna figure out how to perform a practical joke on her." She groused.

"Erm, Gaia… we can see your… you know." Willow said blush bright red.

Gaia looked down. Having donned her usual attire of blouse and skirt it was quite apparent due to the thin, white and now wet blouse, that the goddess had no use or desire for a bra.

Then she noticed that the three men were looking intently at the floor.

"Such gentlemen." She said as she dried herself instantly.

"Actually I think that was fear, what with you being a goddess and me being a slayer." Buffy said cheekily.

"Damn straight." Xander muttered.

"Ditto."

"Indeed."

"Well, I am all dry now so you can stop admiring your shoes."

Cautiously all three men looked up. Xander had a distinctly disappointed look on his face. Which earned him a slap round the back of the head from Buffy.

"Ok, moving on from the obvious and clearly justified fear of woman by man, lets get back to Oz." Gaia said gleefully.

"Not really making me feel safer." Oz muttered.

"Ok, so you obviously figured out you're a werewolf. This means you are cursed. At the moment." Gaia said causing a look of confusion from the assembled.

"There's a cure?" Giles asked.

"No. No cure. But you need a history lesson first." Gaia said indicating they should all get comfy.

"Once the demons were driven out, man was evicted from Eden. Thank you very much Lucifer.

"But as we know, some of the lesser and smaller demons managed to leave something of themselves behind.

"For a few thousand years this was not a problem. The paths of man and demon did not cross. But then the demons got more active as they bolstered their numbers and stronger types emerged.

"God took a group of men who fought the demons and were loyal worshippers and gave them the gift to turn into wolves. And we are talking about huge beasts some of which were taller than Buffy.

"They could do this at will. Even in their human form they were stronger and had incredibly heightened senses.

"They were also immortal, like Xander. They could only be killed by a sufficiently powerful demon. Otherwise they would heal and even come back from the dead.

"Vampires were chew toys to them. But the Judge could put them down.

"The Judge put a lot of them down. Only a handful survived.

"They lost their way and became insular. They attacked anyone who approached their settlement.

"Then they started getting pro-active. Stealing cattle and goods.

"The change came when they discovered the taste of human flesh. For this God cursed them.

"They could no longer change at will and their heightened abilities in human form were lessened, but still above average.

"On the full moon they would change into a cross between man and wolf. Making them clearly distinguishable from other wolves at a distance.

"That is the history of the werewolf." Gaia finished.

"What about the biting and turning of werewolves?" Oz asked looking at his finger.

"It's supposed to be voluntary, anyone wishing to follow the way of the original werewolves would accept a bite and they would join the ranks. But a werewolf had to willingly want to create a werewolf and the bite-ee had to be worthy. Otherwise the children would keep turning everyone."

"Werewolves can be born that way?" Oz asked, hoping his Aunt and Uncle hadn't willingly done this to his fun little cousin.

"Only the original werewolves could. The cursed wolves cannot." Gaia said sadly.

"You seemed to suggest there was some hope for young Oz?" Giles asked.

"Ah yes. Because of who you are, a good person, where you live, the Hellmouth, and most importantly, who you know, me and Xander. You have three options, one of which a werewolf has never been given since the curse was placed."

Oz and Xander leaned forward, one in hope and one in intrigue.

"First choice: You lock yourself up three nights a month, a simple solution, but there is always a risk of your wolf breaking out.

"Second choice: You join your Aunt and Uncle as free roaming werewolves who kill without remorse. Nobody here believes you would consider that option, but I figured I'd mention it.

"Third option: This is the one that God has offered. You become the first in a new line of the original werewolves. Your mission in life will be to fight by Xander's side and protect the world from demons and hell, not to mention other annoyances that are in the universe.

"This third option comes with removal of the curse, which will give you access to the wolf at anytime, as well as the enhanced attributes."

"Option three sounds good to me." Oz said quietly without much need for thought. "I accept."

"Done." Gaia said. "You'll need some training, so Xander, introduce him to the Nox."

"Sure, I can take him tonight." Xander said.

"No, you both have a mission tonight." Gaia said sadly.

"My Uncle, Aunt and cousin." Oz said.

Gaia nodded.

"Gaia, what about Jordy? He's just a kid? Can we not try and help him?" Buffy asked.

"He will still be cursed. He can't play with other children as he might bite them. Only Xander, Oz and Buffy are immune to his bite. As are other werewolves." Gaia said thoughtfully. "Bring the boy here tonight and we will take him to a Tibetan monastery where they learn to suppress the animal. Its all we can do for him."

"Oz, you handle your cousin. Leave your aunt and uncle to me." Xander said seriously.

Oz just nodded. Grateful that Xander was keeping him from his first kill being family.

Oz snuck in and out easily enough. His superior senses making it easy for him to avoid his uncle and aunt, who were distracted by Xander's challenge.

Xander had spent the rest of the day mulling over his mission. It would be very easy to slip in and kill them, or even do it whilst they were in wolf form.

But he felt it was the cowards route. He felt that he should give them a chance, offer them a final opportunity to amend their ways.

Xander didn't want to face them as he took their lives if they refused.

He didn't want to kill humans period.

He was tempted to beg Gaia not to make him do it. But he knew that he had to prove to himself that he could do it. It was his duty.

Wash's memories were no help, the lives taken in battle were different to an execution of criminals.

That night Xander pleaded with Maureen and Ken. They just laughed at him. Tried to bite him and taunted him.

They believed themselves to be a superior species, that they should be ruling the world.

They were as bad as the Goa'uld.

Xander moved quickly, removing their heads with a sword before they realised he had flinched.

He just sat there staring at the headless bodies.

Xander felt ill. He had finally taken a human life.

Sure, they were werewolves, but only three nights a month. He had killed them in human form.

Jordy was now an orphan. And he was the reason. Xander wanted to throw up and then curl into a ball and cry and never move again.

He was very tempted to do just that.

"Quick and clean." Said a voice behind him. Xander didn't care, didn't react, only Gaia had a chance of really being a threat and he doubted she would be willing to put him out of his misery.

Jack came and sat next to Xander on the couch.

"Thank you." He said raising Xander's chin to look him in the eye.

Xander frowned slightly in confusion, the look of defeat never really leaving though.

"I worked black-ops for most of my life, I killed men and women. Assassinated people and destroyed lives. And no one will ever know about it. No one will know why.

"When I went to Abydos the first time, when Daniel first met Sha're, I went to die. A suicide mission. My son had accidentally killed himself with my gun. I had lived a life in darkness that my family knew nothing of.

"Then we met Kasuf, Skaara, Sha're and their people. We saved them from the Goa'uld, Ra. Afterwards they threw a celebration, to thank us.

"It was the first time anyone had done that for me.

"Thanked me for killing someone."

Xander sat that and thought about what Jack said. Thanking someone for killing a person. Seems pretty dumb. He understood the concepts. The morality. But when it came down to it, he had just snuffed out a life.

He knew Jack meant that they had thanked him for saving them, but still, it boiled down to the same response, 'you saved me, by killing for me. Thanks.'

"Sad fact is, this is only going to be the first time you kill, not the last. Don't let yourself get bogged down in the actions, revel in the consequences. Yes you killed. Way Gaia tells it, you might have just saved hundreds of people from being their next meal." Jack said indicating the cooling bodies.

"Come on, take us back to the others, they're waiting for us." Jack said standing up.

"What about… bodies?" Xander asked.

"There's a team waiting to do a clean up. There's a chance that we might be able to close some unsolved cases as well." Jack said with quiet pride. "See, more goodness from a necessary action."

Xander and Jack arrived at the library to find quite a few people waiting for him. SG1, the Scoobies, Jordy, Sha're and Nicky, even Jenny and Joyce, and of course, Gaia.

Gaia was the first to approach him.

"You did well, thank you." Gaia said hugging him tightly.

One by one the females all hugged him. Even Cordelia. Each with tears in their eyes, some with tears flowing freely.

It was a sad day. Xander had taken another step, and there was no way to backtrack this one.

It was when Giles approached him that Xander's resolve cracked. His tears fell freely, and Giles just held him tightly.

"Xander, that is enough." A new male voice said softly.

Xander turned around and saw the Metatron, standing next to God in her female form. On her other side was another man, taller than both with long golden hair and built like a wrestler.

Jack, Sam and Teal'c were already falling to their knees, Xander following soon on their tails.

The others were smart enough to follow their lead.

The Creator stepped quickly to Xander and raised him to his feet effortlessly, lifting his chin to look at him.

As Xander looked into Her eyes he felt a sense of peace come over him.

"A gift." The Metatron said. But Xander new he was speaking for Her.

"You still need to deal with your feelings, but you won't be dragged down by them, you can think more objectively." The Metatron continued.

"Thank you." Xander told the being in front of him.

"There are times when we must do things on our own, Xander. But we don't ever have to em_be/em_ alone." The Metatron spoke quietly, not drawing attention to himself. "After all, that's why I created the heavens and the earth." She gave him a cheeky grin.

Xander giggled slightly.

And God disappeared. But Xander knew she was not gone.

"You can peel yourselves off the floor now." The Metatron said dryly.

There was a brief moment of shuffling as various knees were brushed down and skirts and dresses where straightened.

"I'm assuming you didn't come down just for the floor show?" Metatron said to his companion.

"As interesting as it was no." The large man said with a Scottish accent.

"My brethren and I have been watching you keenly young Xander." He said as he stepped forward to stand in front of Xander. "Many have been begging the Creator for the chance to come and meet you."

"Would you please stop beating around the bloody bush and tell him your name!" The Metatron practically wailed. "I get enough of the cryptic stuff with Her!"

"I am Michael, the Captain of the Host of the Heaven."

"Good Lord!" Giles was heard to mutter.

"Yes, she is." Michael smirked at him.

"And your brethren would be?" Xander asked, having an inkling but not wanting to be presumptuous.

"Aye, they would be the rest of the Host."

"Why?" Xander asked genuinely curious.

Michael chuckled softly. "You may not have been created an angel, or inducted into heaven's armies. But you are still a soldier, a warrior for the Almighty. This makes you one of us. Our brother." He said fondly.

"Very few mortals have been accepted by the Host as one of them. The only one written of was Joshua, he was the first. He serves with us now, still fighting the demonic hordes.

"I am here for the same reason as young Jack over there." Michael declared, gesturing to a now preening Colonel, someone thought he was young!

"Today was a hard day for you. But you will face harder. Battle will not be as hard as today was. Today was an execution. I have been sent to perform many myself." Michael said sadly.

"As with Joshua, we desired to give you a weapon, a gift and sign of our respect and support. But those weapons created in heaven's forge are not permitted for mortals. When Joshua joined our ranks, he offered his earthly sword for the next mortal that found favour with the Hosts."

Michael pulled out a simple sword from beneath his coat. The hilt was wrapped in leather, it held no ornamentations, it had no cross guard. The blade had clearly seen battle many times over.

"This sword has been blessed by our Lord. It will never break and always be sharp. It can only be wielded by the chosen of the Hosts." Michael handed the sword to Xander.

"I believe you will find it most useful. Even when used with your armour." The angel told Xander with a slight smile.

"We should go Michael, let them rest and recover." The Metatron said softly.

"Of course Voice." He responded just as quietly.

"The message She gave you, is the same for myself and the Hosts. Keep up the good work." Michael said as the two angels vanished.

The humans stared in at the empty places that had once contained the denizens of heaven. Gaia moved to Xander and led him to a chair and sat beside him. She was very proud of him.

"So that really was… The God?" Daniel asked in awe.

"See, and you thought we weren't serious." Jack said teasingly. Daniel having been absent at the Almighty's last visit.

"Wow." Daniel said.

"Ditto." Buffy commented I also in awe.

"And that was THE Archangel Michael?" Daniel asked.

"Yep, fiercest warrior in heaven, Sword of the Almighty and the one who will defeat Lucifer in the final battle." Gaia said solemnly.

"He also gives the meanest noogies ever!" She suddenly said in frustration, drawing incredulous looks from the assembled.

"What?" She asked. "Michael's like my big brother. It's the way things are in heaven."

"I think we're having trouble with imagining the great archangel delivering a noogie." Buffy said.

"Would you really want to go to heaven if you couldn't have fun?"

"Good point." Buffy said.

"So, I guess we should get Jordy to Tibet." Xander said having stopped admiring his sword. Something about it felt very right.

"Nope, not necessary." Gaia pointing to the skylight.

Blazing in the clear Californian night sky was a full moon.

Everyone started looking between the little boy sleeping in Oz's arms and the glowing orb in the sky.

"Just a little gift from God to make things less stressful." Gaia said.

"Ok, but we can't leave him here. Oz is probably responsible and all, but I assume your still underage." Jack said with a frown.

"Just turned 18." He said quietly.

"Right, and he's the child of two known murderers who were just found dead." Sam added.

Daniel spoke up from a hasty conference with Sha're and Teal'c.

"If Oz wouldn't mind staying the night at the SGC, the three of us would be willing to help. I'm sure Cassie and Janet would pitch in too." He offered.

Everyone looked at Oz, leaving the decision in the hands of family.

"We won't be experiments?" He asked warily.

"Hell no!" Jack said defiantly. "Besides, Jordy's just a human and last I heard you work for Xander which gives you the same protection as the lovely Summer's ladies over there."

Joyce couldn't help but blush.

"I myself have been the target of organisations wishing to study and experiment on me." Teal'c said lifting his t-shirt to reveal his pouch. "General Hammond and the SGC have protected and defended me each time."

There was a quiet 'eww' from the young blonde quarter.

"Ok, we'll come with you." Oz said. "What about school? And the Nox?"

"I can come get you tomorrow before school, that way I can say 'hi' to Sha're and Nicky." Xander offered.

"Cool." Oz said simply.

"Xander can you take Sha're, Oz and the kids?" Jack asked. "The teleportation system is great, but there is a chance they might wake up."

"Sure no problem, where are we heading?" He asked.

"The briefing room, the General is expecting us."

General Hammond was waiting for them, anxious to make sure that Xander was ok.

Having discussed the issue with Gaia, they decided that they would approach the President to set up a semi legal system that would give Xander the legal authority to handle cases such as Jordy's parents.

Xander left Oz and Jordy in the capable hands of SG1. And headed home for some much needed sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

The next day having picked up Oz and dealt with school, Xander took Oz to meet the Nox.

Two entities with not much use for words.

Xander figured he would be sitting there watching the paint dry.

He was shocked when Anteaus and Oz wound up in a lively debate.

"Violence is not our way." Anteaus intoned. Something about that statement always rubbed Xander the wrong way.

"So its ok for you to live and hide… but others are not your concern?" Oz asked.

"They have made their choice." Anteaus responded.

"Even the victims?" Oz asked.

"They have the ability to conceal themselves just as we do." Anteaus said quietly.

"Humans can do what you do?" Xander asked in shock.

"They can when they learn how." Anteaus told him.

"But the Goa'uld take human hosts… what happens when humans learn how to do what you do… but one of them becomes a slave to a Goa'uld?" Oz asked. "Then all your secrets become their secrets. What will you do when they turn your abilities on you."

At this point Anteaus got a little flustered. Nothing too overt, just a slightly perturbed look and a lack of a response.

Xander was doing all he could not to dance a dance of victory.

Suffice to say that when Xander got them back to the library, Gaia was waiting and grabbed the quiet young musician in a huge hug and Xander let loose with an enthusiastic snoopy dance.

"Thank you Oz, I think you made a great breakthrough for me today. I have been trying for years to argue with them." Gaia gushed.

"Congratulations Oz, next time SG1 has a diplomatic issue like the one with the Nox I am gonna recommend you go with them." Xander said. "The General will love having you on the payroll. Hell, I'm going to go see him now." And Xander promptly vanished.

"Gotta love his enthusiasm." Gaia said wistfully.

Oz just gave her a knowing look.

To which Gaia just stuck her tongue out at him.

Jenny had succeeded. It was a week since Xander's werewolf altercation and Jenny had been working hard.

It took several of the AI's to manage it, but the curse was there and ready to be cast.

She had approached Xander and Giles after contacting her family and receiving a copy of the original curse.

In the original _dead_ language.

They had agreed that it might be necessary as they couldn't find Angelus and Xander couldn't kill what he couldn't find.

So by utilising the encryption and translation abilities of Beta, an AI with the mentality of a five year old, they were able to translate the curse into something useable.

Jenny was just now finishing up. Waiting for the file to save and then print.

She had such a crick in the neck!

She looked up and was surprised to see it was dark out, not a smart idea in this town to work late.

"Jenny, quick, gotta hide!" Church cried out as he phased through the door.

"What? Why?"

"Angelus, down the hall!" He stopped and looked at her. "Why are you questioning me on this?" He asked exasperated. "Do I look like I'm here to tell you Santa Clause is coming?"

Jenny dashed to the door, only to come face to face with Angelus.

"Jenny, dear Jenny." Angelus said patronizingly as he pushed her into the room. "I heard you've been messing around with dark magics… soul curses."

Jenny said nothing, she put one knee to his groin and ran.

Church winced in sympathy.

Jenny had ran to the nearest room with a lock. The girls changing room.

A door with a deadbolt wouldn't keep an enraged vampire out. She started tipping over the lockers to bar the door. Fortunately the windows were barred.

"Xand's on the way!" Church shouted as he appeared beside her.

Jenny screamed.

"DON'T DO THAT!"

"Oops, sorry."

"I don't think that's gonna hold him for long." Jenny muttered as she surveyed the damage she had caused. "Is there anything you can do to help?"

"Like what? I'm just a ghost, I could always go out there and tell him more of Gary's knock jokes."

"Well… if you're a ghost, he's a walking corpse… why don't you try and possess him? Or can you only do it to people in Spartan armour… like an AI?" She asked patronizingly.

"Fine, I'll go mess with the walking corpse… don't tell Gary, god knows what jokes he'll come up with." Church complained as he headed for the door, walking _through_ the mess Jenny had made.

About 10 minutes of pure worry and terror later someone knocked on the locker room door.

"Ms Calendar?" Xander called out. "You in there?"

"Xander?" Jenny responded. "Be careful, Angelus is out there somewhere, Church is trying to possess him."

"Don't worry, I'm in full armour and Angelus isn't a problem. Can you get out?"

"It'll take awhile, I made a mess to block the door."

"Ah, hold on, I can sort that out."

There was a short pause and then a loud smash as Xander's armoured fist broke through the door. He made short work of pulling it off its hinges and then moving through the locker room tossing the debris out of the way.

"So, you ready to go? The G-Man is currently being held down by Oz and Wills so he doesn't try and do something stupid, I figure he could do with some Jenny-Loving about this time." Jenny could hear his grin through the helmet.

"That's Ms. Calendar-Loving to you mister!" She said teasingly. "Come on, lets go let Rupert know I'm fine." She looked around at the demolished room. "Why didn't you just teleport in?"

Xander grinned sheepishly. "Always wanted to destroy the school."

Having finished his demolition of the school Xander put a hand on Jenny's shoulder and took them straight to Giles' apartment and the rest of the gang.

Giles threw all his British stuffiness out the window as he grabbed Jenny in a hug and refused to let her go. Jenny finally let her defences down as she wept as the events of the night caught up with her. She had come pretty close to being the next daughter of the tribe to fall at the hands of Angelus.

Xander called Church in to give an account of what happened to save Jenny from having to relive it directly.

"I was wandering around the school, Xander asked me to make sure I was there if someone else was there at night.

"I knew Ms C was there so I stuck around and kept an eye on things.

"I eventually discovered Angelus coming up to the school, so I went off to tell Ms Calendar, before she could get out of the classroom Angelus was there.

"He was going on about some stuff with magic and what not… Jenny took him out with a single blow." Church said wincing in memory.

The rest of the men subconsciously crossed their legs. The girls just snickered.

"I assume he destroyed the curse, I had just finished the translation, and he seemed to know." Jenny said quietly from Giles' lap.

"Probably Drusilla had a vision." Giles suggested.

"Doesn't matter, Xand and I took him out." Church said smugly.

"WHAT!" Buffy cried out in shock.

"Angelus is gone. Dust in the wind. Jenny was right. I could possess him. Xander found us and rammed a stake through him." Church explained slowly, he was confused as to what the problem was.

"But we were gonna get his soul back." Buffy said quietly.

"We were going to try, but Angelus found out. He has ended that possibility." Giles corrected.

"What about a backup? Aren't computers supposed to have a backup?" Buffy asked frantically.

"I did check, but he had set fire to the computer lab by the time I got to him." Church said.

"The curse would be useless now, he's gone Buffy." Gaia said gently.

Buffy sat there with tears falling down her cheeks. Gaia went to the young slayer and pulled her into a hug. Willow and Cordelia joining them, hoping they never experienced this type of pain.

Oz and Xander, just sat there not wanting to interfere.

Jenny and Giles hugged each other tightly, realising they had come very close to loosing each other.

"Ok, us four are gonna head to Buffy's house. Have a girly night raiding the fridge. I am sure Jenny and Giles want to spend their time together." Gaia declared. "Oz, Xander, you two can go stay at the SGC… or even your ship Xander. You do realise you a have a fully furnished room there?" Gaia said giving orders.

"Ma'am, yes Ma'am!" Xander saluted as he grabbed Oz's shoulder and they vanished.

Xander and Oz found themselves in the briefing room with George, Jack and Sam.

"MY HERO!" Jack shouted wildly.

"Good to see you too Jack." Xander grinned.

Xander turned to look at Oz. "I'm guessing this isn't going to be a fun filled and relaxed evening."

Oz just raised an eyebrow.

"I swear Oz, you and Teal'c need to write a translation manual for those eyebrows." Jack commented.

"Xander, Oz. Your timing is fortuitous. Would you join us?" Hammond asked.

"Ok, what's the deal?" Xander asked.

"We encountered a Goa'uld a year or so ago. It took over Captain Carter. Claimed to be something called a Tok'ra. A good Goa'uld." Hammond explained briefly. "After an altercation with a Goa'uld assassin, the… Tok'ra left Captain Carter to allow her to live… gave its life for hers. Using the left over memories that Captain Carter has accessed we were able to track them, Colonel?" George indicated Jack should take up the narrative.

"Thank you sir. We went to the last planet that Carter knew the Tok'ra were. We were subsequently challenged and peacefully taken to meet with their leaders. After a brief and pointless discussion about what we could offer them... nothing according to them, we were basically made prisoners because they claimed we were a security risk." Jack explained.

"Carter determined that we might be able to give them the one thing they want… hosts."

Xander's eyebrows hit his hairline. He just looked at Sam in disbelief.

"Are you nuts Sam?" He asked.

"Xander, they have proven that they only share, not dominate the host. It's a real symbiotic relationship. Not parasitical. My father is literally dying as we speak, think of how many other sick individuals might be willing to share their body just for some pain release, or a second chance." Sam pleaded.

Xander shook his head in confusion. He looked to Oz.

"What's your take on this?"

Oz thought for a moment.

"What other things did you offer them?" He asked.

"Friendship, shared info, a willingness to fight side by side and technology and aid. Pretty much everything we would offer any other prospective ally." Jack said frustrated,

"And their response?" Oz pushed.

"They basically said we were inferior and had nothing we could offer, they were pissed that none of us was willing to be a host for one of theirs that was dying." Jack said angrily.

Oz took a moment to think on that.

"They are essentially Goa'uld… biologically and therefore stronger than the average human?" Oz asked.

"That's correct." Sam answered.

"You were obviously outnumbered?"

"There were definitely many more than just SG1's four man team." Jack muttered.

Oz looked pointedly at Jack and asked. "And not once did they try and force you to become a host to save one of their own?"

Jack looked a little flustered and embarrassed.

"No, they didn't." Sam answered quietly.

Oz took another moment to collect his thoughts.

"They have the potential to be ideal allies. They are narrow minded and set in their ways. I would want to meet them first, but I say we take Sam's dad and offer him the choice. Make it clear that we appreciate that despite the fact that they were prisoners, they did not attempt to force a symbiote on SG1. Explain that this makes Earth more open to the idea of a… joining, and that they are trustworthy." Oz decided.

"You think that just explaining it will do the trick?" Jack asked.

Oz snorted. "Hell no, Xander goes in with full armour and throws around some commands to show them how powerless they are. They need to know that their stubborn foolishness nearly bought them a very powerful enemy." He said firmly.

"Now _that's_ a plan I can get behind." Jack said slapping the table in enthusiasm.

Hammond just looked at him.

"Sir." He amended weakly.

Hammond sighed. "Very well, I need to clear it with the President first."

"Oz and I will go and check on the rest of the gang and introduce ourselves to the Tok'ra." Xander said he turned to Oz. "Wait here I'll be back in two ticks with my armour."

"Sure."

Xander vanished quickly appearing next to his armour still lying in Giles' living room. He was donning it when he heard some rustling.

"XANDER!" Jenny shrieked.

"ARRRGGHH!" Xander cried as he was greeted by a naked Miss Calendar and Mr Giles.

"Xander, what the devil are you doing here!" Giles demanded as he grabbed a blanket to cover themselves.

"SGC needs a hand, I came to get my armour!" Xander said. "Tomorrow we are going to look for a better place which I can also use to store my armour!" Xander declared as he finished dressing and vanished.

Xander appeared next to Oz and shuddered.

"Problem?"

"Giles and Miss C were… celebrating."

"Ah, I feel your pain." Oz said calmly. "General Hammond said to just head off when we want and he'll send Sam and Jack along later with her dad."

"Cool, you ready for your first off world mission?" He asked.

"The Nox don't count?"

"Fine spoil my fun." Xander groused as he turned on his invisibility, grabbed Oz and teleported to wherever Daniel was.

Daniel was surprised to suddenly see Oz standing next to him.

"Erm, hi Oz." He greeted hesitantly.

"Hey, thought _we'd_ drop by, meet the neighbours." Oz hinted.

By this point the assembled Tok'ra had noticed the intruder and several weapons were pointed in his direction.

"What is this deception!" A woman demanded. "How did he get here?"

"Err, Garshaw, this is Oz. He's a… he works for an ally of ours. Someone must have started to worry and asked him to come." Daniel had figured that Xander was somewhere nearby if Oz was just appearing. The slight metal prod told him that 'somewhere' was right behind him.

"Actually, we came after talking to General Hammond, their boss. He told us some stuff about you not wanting to be allies and finding it unacceptable that they don't want to be hosts?" Oz queried.

"That is true. They are primitive and the only thing they can offer is hosts, and they find the thought disgusting." The woman said disdainfully.

"And you have had a complete run down of their technological capabilities?" Oz asked.

"Well, no." Garshaw began, but Oz went on.

"And out of the 6 billion odd humans on Earth, you've judged them all by the choices of what…eight?" Oz continued. "Eight humans I might add who have witnessed your kind forcibly take hosts and use their bodies to commit atrocities?"

Garshaw didn't really have an answer for that.

"They are still susceptible to spies and a viable security risk." She rallied.

"That's why we have this thing called trust. Besides, with their help you wouldn't have to hide. You could probably pick a planet and claim it. My… Lord, holds many territories, he might be willing to allow you to reside on one under his protection. It would be less of a risk." Oz pushed.

"We are spies and undercover operatives. That is our way. We have operated in this manner for hundreds of years." She declared defiantly.

"And just how has that worked out for you?" Oz asked.

"We have survived."

"Earth has _thrived_, despite several attacks."

"Who is this master you serve?" Garshaw asked. "We refuse to submit to a Goa'uld or become slaves."

"You really think Earth would ally with a Goa'uld? They were pretty unwilling to meet with you." Oz snorted. "And he's not a master in the sense you implied. I call him 'Lord' as that is the title he has earned. He is known as Lord Xander."

Garshaw stepped back in pure fear.

"You serve the Goa'uld killer?" She asked.

"He's been known to squash a few worms beneath his heel." Oz said absently.

Garshaw looked at Daniel, her face ashen. "You would bring the servant of the greatest threat to our kind in our midst?" She accused. "It is clear you cannot be trusted."

"Hold up, they didn't bring me, and why would my Lord be a threat to you?" Oz asked beginning to get annoyed.

"It is said he has technology that can remove and crush a symbiote." She said slightly green.

"Its not technology, but he can do that. Again, why would he do that to you?" Oz asked.

"We are physiologically identical to the Goa'uld. Why wouldn't he?" Garshaw countered.

Oz sighed. "My Lord I believe you had better take over this conversation. They are too stubborn and short sighted." Oz said to the invisible champion.

"I agree." Xander said as he faded into view. "They have potential, and I can see they aren't evil like the Goa'uld. But they have many flaws, arrogance for one. Perhaps more than the people of Earth."

Garshaw had stumbled in her haste to avoid the 7ft armoured figure, she was now scooting away on her butt. The guards were shaking in their sandals and hoping they wouldn't have to engage.

"Even the Nox were at least willing to listen and discuss. They have accepted that they can be wrong." Xander continued.

"Lord Xander does not go around killing indiscriminately." Daniel tried to assure the terrified would be captors. "He has just come to ensure the well-being of his friends."

Xander stepped forward towards the fallen woman. He allowed his steps to fall solidly, making him appear even more imposing.

"The floor is no place for a lady, no matter her species." He said firmly as he held out an armoured hand to her, of course his friendly grin was hidden behind his helmet.

Garshaw had flinched even though Xander had moved slowly. The guards moving out of the way, still unwilling to start the battle that would be their last.

Garshaw looked at the proffered hand in apprehension and slight confusion. Lord Xander was known throughout the galaxy as a ruthless killer of the Goa'uld. The numbers he had killed were unknown as there were no survivors. He had only made himself known over the past few weeks. The Tok'ra were intelligence agents, they were horrified when they couldn't find information on him past rumours.

Their agents within Heru'ur's forces were forced to flee when Lord Xander began destroying the other minor Goa'uld who served him. And here he was offering her a helping hand.

Garshaw slowly accepted the hand and Xander raised her to her feet.

Xander led her slowly back to the others.

"The Tok'ra are essentially the same species as the Goa'uld." He told the humans. "But they do not have the inky blackness I can sense in the Goa'uld. The Tok'ra are more grey, a dark grey but grey all the same. I guess they can be trusted, but they're gonna have to learn new ways if they are to survive much longer in this galaxy."

Xander turned to face Garshaw.

"The battlefield has changed. The Taur'i are a new player. As am I. You can't expect them to sit by and wait for others to fight the war while they are attacked at every turn." He admonished. "You should know from your hosts that humans are highly adaptable and creative. In a few short years you could claim your own planet, and it would be as defensible as Earth. For now, I will honour the offer Oz made on my behalf and offer you sanctuary on one of mine."

"It is a pleasing and tempting thought My Lord." She said timidly. "But I must discuss this with the council."

"That's fine. I do not believe there to be a rush. But, my friends will not be held prisoner and are free to leave at anytime. They mean no threat or harm." Xander said. "Well, no more threat than you are already under." He amended.

"I will inform the council." Garshaw said realising that they didn't really have a say in the matter.

Xander reached up and slowly removed his helmet.

Garshaw gasped. "You are a child!" She said in shock, but not malice.

"The fight is my choice. I was noticed by the Creator and Goddess of the Universe, they chose me as their Champion." He said quietly.

Garshaw hesitantly reached a hand to touch his cheek. "It seems wrong that one so young should have to fight. I see now that Oz is also far too young for battle." Garshaw said sadly. "But I will see that the council respects you."

"I believe my armour has served its purpose for today. I will return it and SG3 to the Taur'i home world and return shortly." Xander said.

"I will convene the council immediately." Garshaw said as she bowed and left.

"Well that was tense." Xander sighed.

"Indeed." Teal'c intoned.

"You know, you sound very officious and… regal when you deal with people like that." Oz said.

"I noticed that too, its like I'm channelling my inner Giles." Xander agreed. "Creeps me out sometimes."

"Do you think it might be Wash's training?" Oz queried.

"Could be, he did have to make official verbal reports." Xander agreed.

"You could also be sensing and responding to the gravity of the situation." Daniel offered.

"Makes me wonder why I always sound pissed off when dealing with the Nox." Xander groused.

"Ok, SG3, grab a piece of the Xan-man and I'll get you back home." Xander said.

"What about our weapons and gear?" Colonel Makepeace asked.

"No worries, I'll make sure SG1 gets them before they leave." He assured him.

It didn't take long for Xander to deposit SG3 back at the SGC, drop off his armour (in the spare room) and get back to the Tok'ra base.

By which point Garshaw had returned and asked if Lord Xander would appear before the council. She didn't seem too pleased about the reaction of the council.

"You are a child?" One of the male members said with disdain. "You claim this is Lord Xander the destroyer of the Goa'uld?"

Xander was standing on his lonesome in the council chamber. He had a feeling these idiots where gonna make his blood pressure rise.

"I believe it, as he and his…" Garshaw stumbled for the correct term for Oz.

"Friend." Xander offered.

"Of course, friend." Garshaw smiled slightly. "He and his friend both appeared in out midst with out visible means. He is respected by the Taur'i. He also has what appears to be a most formidable armour."

"Nonetheless, he is but a child." One of the other members said gently. "You must understand that it does seem most unlikely that _he_ is this Lord Xander."

Garshaw it seemed was not pleased at her word being dismissed so easily, but Xander decided to step in.

"You know," he began stepping up beside Garshaw, "on my world it's considered rude to talk about some one as if they are not there when they are in the room."

"And what could you possibly have to say that we would be interested in hearing?" The same confrontational man said.

"Cordesh!" Garshaw said angrily. "Show some respect at the very least. He has shown us much respect. He could easily force us to hear him."

"That I highly doubt." Cordesh scoffed.

"I am curious, according to my friends on SG1, you denied them an alliance partly because they were susceptible to infiltration, is that correct?"

"It is, they are primitive and undeveloped. They would have no way of knowing they had been compromised." Cordesh said vehemently.

"Well, it seems to me, that you have the same problem." Xander said rubbing his chin. "I'm guessing that Garshaw told you that I said I could see the difference between the Goa'uld and the Tok'ra? That I said the Goa'uld are an inky black and the Tok'ra are more grey?"

Several council members nodded.

"Something we find offensive, we are _nothing_ like the Goa'uld." Cordesh maintained.

"Right, and I'm guessing you dismissed it." Xander sighed. "I wasn't being metaphorical. I can literally see the symbiote inside you. All of you have a grey, of various shades mind you, symbiote. Except him." Xander said pointing at Cordesh.

"Of course, accuse the loudest objector of being a traitor." Cordesh chuckled derisively. "A tactic that has been used throughout history."

"I'm about to show you why I am feared by the Goa'uld and why you should be very worried about pissing me off." Xander said fiercely. "But first, Garshaw, would you ask Teal'c to join us?"

Garshaw nodded and quickly ran off to find the former first prime.

Meanwhile the council discussed in murmurs whilst Cordesh just looked smug.

Xander however could hear every word. They were very curious.

And afraid.

Teal'c and Garshaw soon joined them.

"Lord Xander, how may I aid you?" Teal'c asked with a small bow which Xander returned.

"Teal'c, these people doubt me as much as they doubt the Taur'i. Cordesh is also a Goa'uld… again, they doubt me." Xander explained.

"You wish to use me and my symbiote as an example?" Teal'c surmised.

"Only if that's ok with you." Xander said firmly.

"It is a small price to pay to aid you and the Taur'i." Teal'c said lifting his t-shirt.

Xander turned to address the council. "This is an example of my abilities." Xander turned an looked at Teal'c's pouch. "Demon, leave the Jaffa." He commanded firmly.

The next thing the Tok'ra knew, there was a worm writhing on the floor.

There was a stunned silence as Xander picked up the snake with a grimace and held it before the council.

"That is how I defeated Ammonet and Heru'ur. It is how I convinced the Jaffa under Heru'ur that he was no god and that is why they choose to work for me." Xander turned and handed the worm to Teal'c who was already looking a bit peakish. "Teal'c I love ya man, but we really need to find a way to free you from that bastard."

"Now then, Cordesh. State your real name mission." Xander commanded.

"I am Cordesh. I serve the Goa'uld System Lord Apophis." Cordesh's eyes showed the shock and fear at being forced to comply.

Xander noticed this. "Not very nice not being able to control yourself, is it?"

Cordesh just stood there immobile.

"What have you told the System Lords of us?" Garshaw demanded.

Cordesh just looked at her and sneered.

"Answer her." Xander ordered.

"Everything I know, about the Taur'i, the locations of our operatives and of our location here." Cordesh answered.

Garshaw was shocked. "We must evacuate and recall our operatives!"

"Running?" Xander queried. "Why not make a stand?"

"They will come in ships, we have no means to defend against ships." Garshaw explained.

"Ok, what about my offer?" Xander asked. "Go and set up base on one of my planets. You will be protected, we have orbital ships for defence and the Stargate is also well defended."

"We will need access to the Stargate." Garshaw said.

"Not a problem. Just abide by the rules and regulations that my Jaffa set down, of course any suggestions on improvements will be very welcome." Xander said.

"We must discuss this." Garshaw said indicating the council.

"Sure, just don't take too long and are we finished with Cordesh?" The former Tok'ra still standing stock still.

"He has told us all he can, and it is likely the host is innocent." Garshaw conceded.

"Lets be sure. Cordesh how complicit is your host?"

"This host is a whining fool who is constantly begging me to follow the Tok'ra ways-"

"Right, in other words the poor soul could do without you in his head." Xander interrupted. "Cordesh, leave the host."

A second later Xander needed to clean his shoes again.

The Tok'ra merely stared in shock and awe.

"Just in case you were wondering, I can pretty much order you to do the same, but I have no reason to as you are not Goa'uld. I am very interested in helping you."

Cordesh's former host meanwhile dropped to his knees thanking Lord Xander for his benevolence.

Xander and Teal'c left the Tok'ra council to their deliberations in search of Daniel and Oz.

"What's happening?" Daniel asked clearly agitated.

"Easy there Daniel, nothing big, just took out a Goa'uld spy, proved I have the power to wipe out any Goa'uld within earshot and offered the Tok'ra sanctuary on one of my planets." Xander said soothingly.

"Right. Nothing big." Daniel said sarcastically.

"I assume you intend for them to move to Abydos?" Teal'c asked.

"Yep, makes sense. Sayel is there and the Abydonians and the Tok'ra might be good for each other. I'll settle the Tok'ra away from the Abydonians for now, try and prevent a culture shock." Xander said.

"You came up with all that in there?" Daniel said indicating the council chambers.

"Hell no." Xander scoffed. "Just figured Abydos is the only planet I really know. Its just that the more I think about it the more it makes sense."

"And if they say no?" Oz asked.

"Then they are a bunch of idiots who are not worth our time and I'll make it clear that I will not be responsible for any of theirs that get in our way… or tolerate their spies among my people and allies." Xander said firmly.

"Agreed." Teal'c said.

"Just in case, Daniel, mind if I take you to Sayel so you can grab Kasuf and arrange things to be prepared?" Xander asked.

"Sure." Daniel agreed.

This left Oz and Teal'c alone in the waiting area.

Neither seemed to feel the need to talk.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** People have asked if this is the same version as listed on Twisting The Hellmouth , it is but it has been heavily edited in places with many parts added that I felt were missing.

* * *

It wasn't long after that that Jack arrived with Sam and Jacob in tow.

"Hey campers, where's Daniel and Xander?" Jack asked.

"Xander has taken Daniel to meet with his First Prime and Kasuf regarding the possible relocation of the Tok'ra to Abydos." Teal'c explained.

"And just how did Xander's introduction go over?" Jack asked.

"I'll ask Delta to send you the vid feed." Oz said knowing Jack would enjoy it.

"Sweet." Jack said gleefully rubbing his hands together.

"Ok, so what are we waiting for? And where's Marty? I don't think Jacob can wait much longer."

"Thanks Jack." Jacob commented wryly. And then started coughing.

"I'll go find Garshaw, she should know." Oz offered with a quick sniff of the air.

"Woah! Where did he come from?" Jacob exclaimed.

SG1 turned to see Xander had returned.

"Abydos." Xander responded. "Jack, Sam… Sam's dad?" Xander greeted.

Jacob nodded and started coughing viciously.

"That does not sound good." Xander commented. "Teal'c filled you in?"

"Yeah, sounds like you are making an impression." Jack said. "Oz promised me the video." He grinned.

"To be honest the best part was Oz managing to talk Garshaw into a corner." Xander said.

"He was most impressive." Garshaw admitted as she, Martouf and Oz returned. "You too, were most capable in your handling of the council." She complimented.

"This is Martouf, Xander, he will take Captain Carter and her father to meet with Selmak."

"Good luck." Xander offered.

"Thanks kid." Jacob said.

"Lord Xander, the council thanks you for your offer of sanctuary and would like to take you up on your offer, at least for a time." Garshaw said formally.

"You will be most welcome." Xander responded with a smile.

"It seems we must hurry, our scouts report that two motherships are on approach." Garshaw informed them.

"Ok, this is a huge logistical feat beyond my experience. I am going to leave it in the hands of yourself, Jack and Teal'c." He said handing his communication device to Teal'c. "Sayel is expecting your call and is ready to coordinate with you." He told the Jaffa.

Teal'c bowed in response.

"I'll go with them." Oz said as Jack and Teal'c moved to the side to confer.

"You got any injured or people who will be difficult to move?" Xander asked Garshaw as she turned to follow.

"Only Selmak, we live always ready to move, it is our way." Garshaw said sadly.

"Ok, I'll go find them in case I need to help move them without the Stargate." Xander said with a quick bow as he vanished.

Xander found Sam and Martouf standing to the side whilst Jacob was in conversation with an elderly woman, Selmak and her host he assumed.

"How's it going?" Xander asked.

"He does not seem repulsed by the idea, which is most fortunate." Martouf noted.

"He only gets stubborn about his kids." Sam said with a slight smile. "He's pretty open minded otherwise."

"What's the procedure?" Xander asked. "We have Goa'uld in-coming. Everyone's evacuating."

"If all three parties agree, then Selmak will join with Jacob, they will then need to rest whilst the blending takes hold." Martouf explained. "It will still be difficult as both are sick and near death. There is a chance it may not work."

"But it's one we both accept." Jacob said as he joined their conversation.

"Ok, before you two… do what you do… can they be moved afterwards? What with the incoming bad guys an' all." Xander interrupted.

"No, it is imperative that they not be moved." Martouf said firmly.

"Yeah, I was afraid you'd say that." Xander said rubbing a hand down his face.

Xander walked into the room and knelt down next to Selmak.

"Hey there, you hear about the ruckus we got coming in?" Xander asked gently.

"If you are referring to the Goa'uld attack, then yes I heard you speaking." She said.

"Bottom line is we do this here and you wake up under a pile of rubble or in Goa'uld hands. I can however move you in as little as three steps to the Taur'i base where you can do this safely and with some medical care." Xander offered.

There was a slight pause as the host spoke up.

"Do what you must, Selmak will keep me alive until we are safe."

Xander nodded and stood up.

"Ok, Sam you go find the Jack and see if he needs help. I'll take Selmak, Martouf and your dad to the SGC so they can do this in safety. As soon as they are safe I'll come back and get you." Xander said warding off any arguments.

Sam hugged her dad and ran off.

"Ok, erm… what's your name?" Xander asked the host.

"Saroosh." She responded.

"Right then, Saroosh I am going to pick you up and we will find ourselves at the Taur'i base, you will be able to complete your task there."

Saroosh nodded and Xander gently lifted her into his arms.

"Martouf, Jacob, grab hold of my shoulders and all of you prepare yourselves for a little change in scenery." Xander said.

As soon as they were ready they found themselves in a small room with smooth walls and a double bed.

Xander gently lay Saroosh down on the bed.

"I wish you well on your journey Saroosh." He told her as he kissed her forehead.

"Thank you." She said slightly tearfully.

"Begin now and I'll go get the General and have him arrange for the medical team to come." Xander said as he vanished.

Having deposited George in the room with Jacob and co, he headed off to retrieve Sam.

She arrived to find that the blending had taken place.

Xander picked up Saroosh who was beginning to breathe heavily having lost Selmak, and vanished.

Saroosh found herself on a sandy beach her back against Lord Xander's chest as they sat on the warm sand.

"Where have you brought me?" She asked as she looked out at a sandy beach and a blue ocean.

"I thought you might enjoy seeing a glimpse of what you've been fighting for all these years before you move onto your next challenge." Xander said pointing out a family lazing on the beach as children played.

"Thank you." She whispered.

Xander sat there holding Saroosh in his lap as she breathed her last breath enjoying the freedom that many took for granted at times.

Xander returned Saroosh's body to the SGC and laid her down next to Jacob.

"I wanted her to have a good last few minutes. Took her to a beach back home." He told them.

"That was most kind of you." Martouf said as he bowed deeply.

"She deserved it." Xander said as he arranged her peaceful form.

"Are they gonna be ok?" Xander asked as he looked at Jacob and Selmak as they lay peacefully. The doctor had hooked them up to a monitor.

"They'll be fine, their vitals are growing much stronger." The Doctor said.

"Xander this is Doctor Janet Frasier, you might have heard the Colonel mention her." Hammond said.

"No, but I think Daniel did, something about you and Cassie?" He asked Janet.

"My adopted daughter." She said with a small smile. "We have been taking care of Jordy whilst he's here."

"She knows about the Stargate?" Xander asked in surprise.

"She's an orphan from another planet." Janet said sadly.

"Ah, another budding member of the SGC junior division." He grinned.

"Actually she can't go near the gate, she has been booby trapped with a device that will explode when she gets too close." Sam said.

"Well that's sucky. We'll have to get that thing out of her." Xander declared.

"You have a way?" Janet asked hopefully.

"Me? No idea, but I'll ask the Nox and maybe the Tok'ra have some ideas. Who knows who else we'll come across." Xander said. "Send me the details and I'll have the AI's take a look too."

"Whoa!" Jacob said as he woke up, startling the assembled.

"Dad?" Sam said as she and Janet rushed to his side.

"Yeah kid, I'm here. Is it me or is everything a whole lot clearer?" He mused.

"Right, no more glasses for you." Sam smiled as she hugged him.

"Selmak?" Martouf asked.

"I am here too." She said. "We are very well."

At that moment a gate activation was sounded so Xander took himself and George to the control room on the orbiting ship. Which unfortunately startled most of the guards, they quickly recovered.

"Report." Hammond ordered.

"Receiving SG1 IDC sir." The gate tech said.

"Open the Iris." He ordered as he headed into the new gate room.

Jack, Teal'c, Garshaw and Oz tumbled through the gate followed by an unhealthy amount of sand.

"Just so you know, Earth has plenty of beaches if you're that desperate for sand." Xander remarked as he helped Garshaw up.

"I will try to remember that." She commented with a smirk.

Jack smiled at Xander's antics. "General Hammond, allow me to introduce Garshaw of the Tok'ra, Garshaw, General Hammond… my boss."

"You gonna clean that one up in your memoirs?" Xander asked the General quietly.

George just ignored the two clowns and greeted Garshaw.

"We are on a Goa'uld ship?" Garshaw asked.

"Technically it's a Xander ship." Jack quipped.

"We're in high orbit over Earth. Xander has helped us implement a system where the gate is used in a ships cargo bay. In the event of an invasion through the gate that defeats the iris, we can flush the cargo bay and even eject the Stargate altogether." Hammond explained.

"Most impressive." Garshaw said in admiration. "I assume this was primarily Xander's idea?"

"Oh yeah, he set the whole thing up on Abydos and then offered to put our scientists together to improve it." Jack confirmed.

"In that case I would like to offer our own scientists in the hopes that it might further improve our chances." She said.

"I'm game." Xander said happily.

"Likewise, I believe it is a sound idea." Hammond agreed.

"Ok, everybody grab a hold and I'll get us back down to the SGC." Xander said as he held out his arms.

Garshaw looked perturbed but copied the others and held on to Xander's arm.

The next thing she knew, the gold décor of a Goa'uld ship was replaced by the drab grey of a military installation.

It left her a little disorientated.

"That is amazing." She said. "You use no technology?"

"Nope, just some gifts from my boss." He grinned.

"I assume your control over the Goa'uld protects you from being taken as a host?" She asked leaving aside the 'boss' remark.

"Should do, last time something tried to possess me it got its butt kicked." He shrugged.

"Thank goodness." She said sincerely. "I would hate to see your powers in the hands of the Goa'uld."

"Garshaw, Jacob and Selmak awoke just before you returned, perhaps you'd like to visit?" Hammond offered.

Jacob it turned out was practically bouncing off the walls. He was still discovering little things that Selmak had fixed.

He was often laughing to himself too. Apparently Selmak was quite the wise ass.

Having retrieved his communications device from Teal'c he had checked in with Sayel and allowed Garshaw to check on her people.

They had moved to the planet and already begun a new cave system.

General Hammond offered the three Tok'ra lodging for a while in the hopes of getting to know each other.

They agreed under Selmak's insistence that the Tok'ra needed to see the Taur'i at home to understand them.

Jacob commented that Selmak was just excited by all the stuff in his head.

"Ok, I'm gonna go check on Sayel and Kasuf. I need to go get Daniel too." Xander commented.

"Hold up!" George said freezing Xander on the spot. "I have spoken to all three and they are fine. If Daniel needs to get home he can use the Stargate. You manage to save us several million dollars a year by putting it on the ship, powering that thing was expensive.

"Whilst you were off saving the galaxy, I called Joyce."

Xander had the look of a man caught in the cross hairs.

"She gave me a run down of what you've been up to over the past two days. You and Oz are both to get some much needed rest. SG1 too."

"But-"

"Gaia said, and I quote: 'If he tries anything that isn't related to a planetary event, I'll confine him to the Nox home world for a week.'" George interrupted.

"She wouldn't!" Xander said in shock.

George just raised an eyebrow as if to say 'Want to bet?'

Xander visibly deflated. "She would."

"Who is this Gaia?" Garshaw asked, she was curious about this person that seemed to have some sort of power over Xander, but that Xander was obviously fond of.

"My boss." Xander said simply.

"Xander will be here tomorrow so he can spend some time with his godson and Jordy, he can explain that one tomorrow." Hammond said with a smile. "Doctor Frasier also wanted to introduce you to her daughter." He told Xander.

Xander perked up at that. He took a lot of pleasure entertaining the two kids. It seemed his cat form was universally loved.

"Ok, fine. I'll head down to… ah, I left Saroosh in my usual room. It was the only comfy room I knew in the place." Xander smiled sheepishly.

"Don't worry you can use Daniel's office, he said he'd stay on Abydos for a day or two to help settle the Tok'ra." Hammond offered.

Xander was summarily dragged off to Daniel's office and Oz went to find his bed near Jordy's room.


	13. Chapter 13

Having slept all night and most of the morning, Xander and Oz woke to find Jordy already up and about whilst Nicholas was sleeping off his morning feed.

Sha're had settled into a life at the SGC quite happily.

She missed her home but she was content to stay with Daniel and Nicky, she knew that General Hammond had offered to let her use the Stargate to travel home whenever she wished.

Nicky was approaching 6 months. He was grabbing everything in reach and starting to rock himself. Oz, having watched his cousin grow was sure he'd start moving around on his own soon.

This was supported by Jack and George who had watched their own children grow.

It was no surprise then when SG1 barring Daniel but including General Hammond had returned one day and portioned off a playpen for Nicky and Jordy.

Jack forbid anyone from mentioning it lest they lose their hard earned rep as the galaxy's new hard-asses.

Daniel and Sha're had approached Oz that morning when he woke.

"Oz, we'd like to officially adopt Jordy." Daniel said uncharacteristically blunt.

Oz was only slightly surprised. He knew that Sha're spent the most time caring for the two year old and Jordy certainly loved her. He also loved Nicky and watching him smile and laugh. Almost as much as Xander in cat form.

"You're sure about this?" Oz asked.

"Yes. Jordy is family. We wish to observe your culture and rituals and accept him as our family." Sha're said.

Oz just chuckled. "Jordan Jackson. Poor little guy. He'll be right up there with Lois Lane, Peter Parker, Scott Summers and Lex Luther."

"Who are they?" Sha're asked in confusion.

"Fictional characters, like stories." Daniel explained with a smile.

"It's fine by me. I trust you, you've done good by him regardless, you all deserve to be able to claim each other. But just so you know, he does have a little bit of animal instinct in him, it's why he still latches so easily to Xander. He's the ultimate Alpha, the leader of the pack."

"We, realise, and we don't want you to feel anything is changing, just being recognised as official." Daniel explained.

"Fine by me. Arrange whatever paperwork you need." Oz smiled.

The three Tok'ra were shocked by the existence of Nicholas. Selmak quickly brought Jacob up to speed though which made him realise how at risk little Nicholas was.

"Ok, here's what I don't get." Xander said as they were watching Jordy entertain Nicky. "You Tok'ra have no population growth because you can't make more symbiotes and hosts are rare, according Sam, right?"

"That is correct." Garshaw said. "As much as the Goa'uld claim that the host is gone, the truth is the host is always there, and the Goa'uld can feel its pain and suffering. That is why we refuse to force ourselves on anyone."

"Ok, but its obvious that you guys along with your human hosts can make babies that has elements of all of you. Surely there are some of you that have relationships and love each other enough to start a family." Xander pointed out. "You may be dying out as symbiotes, why not have babies, start a new race of Tok'ra… so to speak. Your legacy continues and let's face it, they have genetic memories so they will truly understand what it means to be a host and would be more willing to offer."

"Kid makes a point." Jacob added. "I'm not saying that we should all pair up and start popping out kids, but some of our number who have taken younger hosts might be willing to settle down, at least till the kids grow up a bit."

"But is it right to create life that would be so at risk?" Martouf asked. "When word spreads that a race of Harcesis are being made, the Goa'uld will either try to exterminate us or take away the children for themselves."

"Your first point is useless, lets face it the Goa'uld are already trying to wipe you out. As for your second point, everyone in this galaxy lives under the same threat. I can guarantee you that I will fight to defend your children with all that I am." Xander said passionately.

They continued a spirited yet friendly debate for a while longer, they ended it when Cassie and Janet joined them.

"You smell that?" Xander asked Oz as Cassie entered the room.

"You mean the metallic smell?" He queried.

"Yeah." Xander said unhappily. "Hey Janet, this Cassie?"

"Yep, this is Cassandra, my very own little ruffian." She grinned hugging the young girl affectionately.

"Howdy ma'am." Xander said in his best Texan accent.

"Xander, please don't try and imitate my accent, you're terrible." George remarked as he entered the room with SG1.

"Fine." He sulked theatrically. "Spoil my fun. I'll let you do the introductions then." Xander plopped back down and crossed his arms maintaining an enormous pout.

"Sometimes its really hard to believe Gaia picked you to be the Champion of the Universe." George sighed.

Xander just stuck his tongue out.

His sulk was interrupted by Jordy walking up and grabbing Xander's thigh.

"Xander cat!" He demanded with a huge smile.

Xander moved from theatrical pout to theatrical put upon.

"If I must." He sighed.

"You know you love it." Oz smirked.

Xander just gave him the evil eye, then smiled evilly. "Hey Jordy, how about a doggy ride?" He said indicating Oz.

Jordy looked between Oz and Xander, carefully weighing the pro's and con's.

"Xander cat!" But he knew what he wanted.

"Fine, you remember the rules?" Xander asked the little boy.

"Only gentle." Jordy declared solemnly.

There was a sudden squeal of happiness as Jordy found himself looking at a small black cat.

"Holy Hannah!" Jacob muttered in awe. "Is… erm… is that the kid?"

"Well, at this point I prefer to call him by his title, 'Lord Xander'." Jack smirked.

"That six foot kid turned into a tiny cat?" He asked.

"Yep." Jack said rocking on the balls of his feet.

"What Colonel O'Neill is pointedly not saying," George said in exasperation, "is that Xander can transform into any animal he desires."

"That is truly amazing." Martouf said.

"And he does this with no technology." Garshaw asked.

"You always seem to ask about the technology." Jack noted without malice.

Garshaw considered this. "I suppose I do." She conceded. "It probably comes from trying to expose false gods."

"Ah, definitely see that, we would do the same." Jack noted.

"Xander's abilities are a gift from a real goddess, Gaia is the Goddess of the Universe." Sam said.

"It is obvious from the way you say it that you are not afraid of her or referring to a Goa'uld." Martouf said.

Sam and Daniel looked at each other as they both tried to figure out how to explain it.

"Have you ever heard of the concept of the Creator? An all powerful being that created existence?" Oz asked, deciding they could use a hand.

"It is a common theme even amongst the Goa'uld." Selmak offered. "The Goa'uld tend to squash any such talk about such a being."

Oz nodded, made sense for the Goa'uld to not want individuals to have hope that there was someone more powerful than them.

"Well, The Creator exists." Oz said slowly. "Most of us in the room have met with her at least once, I believe only Janet and Cassie have not had the pleasure."

By this point the three Tok'ra were listening intently.

"When the Creator, or as we refer to him, 'God', created existence, she created gods and goddesses under her. Their task is to manage various aspects of Her creation. Gaia is responsible for everything in this universe in every reality and every timeframe. She has only mentioned one other god and that is Hades, the God of the Underworld and the Dead."

"Seriously?" Jacob asked looking at George and Sam.

They just nodded.

"You referred to her as both him and her." Martouf queried.

"She has no real gender, but she prefers the female form to appear in, but she is also known by various male titles, like 'God the Father'." Oz explained.

"And Gaia is Xander's boss?" Garshaw asked.

"That's Xander's affectionate name for her." George explained. "Gaia chose Xander as her Champion. She gifted him with the abilities he has now."

"Strange to think that just six months ago he was a regular human boy." Daniel said.

Jack snorted. "He fought vampires and demons!" Jack exclaimed. "Nothing normal about that."

"They're real too!" Jacob nearly shouted.

This earned him a hiss from the black cat frolicking with Jordy.

Nicky was still snoozing.

"Sorry." He said sheepishly.

"I found that one hard to believe too." Sam said. "Why didn't you?" She asked Daniel as she realised he had just accepted it.

"I'm an archaeologist Sam, the first thing they teach you on your first dig is 'see vampire, run'." He said. "Everybody knows better than to talk about it."

"Makes sense." Oz shrugged.

"Hey Xan!" Church called out as he wandered into the room scaring the Tok'ra.

Xander instantly changed back and picked up Jordy.

"Hey Church, what's up?"

"Buffy's real sick. Looks like flu." Church explained. "She went out patrolling and got hit by Spike and a band of newbies. She's ok as Willow, Giles and Jenny were with her but she is really out of it. And Spike knows." He said pointedly.

"Damn, she's a big target." Xander muttered.

"Xander, the President has authorised the SGC to offer aid and support, I can send two SG units to cover her patrol till she is back to health." George offered.

"I'm not sure, these guys will be vulnerable." He said.

"The two teams I have allocated are former black-ops, they know the stories and they have fought Jaffa before. They know better than to underestimate the enemy." George countered.

"I'll go with them, it is my job after all." Oz said with a small smile.

"I recommend you bring your family back here so they aren't targeted by this Spike and we won't have to give my men more bodies to worry about." George offered.

"Ok, come on Oz let's go round 'em up and give Buff an earful for fighting whilst sick." Xander sighed.

Once the two boys left Jack turned to Church.

"How did you get all the way over here?" He asked the translucent being.

"Internet." He replied.

"I thought you said you weren't an AI." Jack said pointedly.

Church just chuckled. "Ask one of them about Moloch." He said cryptically.

Xander made a quick round to everyone once he dropped Oz off at Buffy's. He told everyone that they had half an hour to pack light for a trip to Colorado.

Whilst they were waiting for everyone to get ready, Oz confronted Xander on something that worried him.

"The sword Michael gave you." He said. "Where is it?"

"At Giles' with my armour." Xander shrugged.

"I think you should carry it always." Oz frowned.

Xander sat forward at this. "How come?"

"We don't know what other types of bad guys are out there. You can't summon the sword to you, so I think you should carry it at all times." Oz said. "Your powers aren't always useful against certain enemies. Better to be armed."

Before, Xander might have dismissed the idea. But he had gotten to know Oz and seen him handle some pretty powerful creatures with words alone.

It struck him as pretty serious if Oz was suggesting he be armed.

"Ok, I'll wear the sword." Xander conceded slowly. "Anybody complains I'm blaming you." He said.

Oz just smiled and shrugged.

Xander arrived back at the SGC with Buffy in his arms and everyone grabbing a hold of whatever they could.

He was for once very glad that he was now a lot bigger.

He was instantly assaulted by an over excited Church.

"Xan, Willow! These Tok'ra guys have offered to help with my body!" He said. It was quite amusing to see an armoured ghost bouncing with undisguised glee.

Xander felt that Wash and the Master Chief would be rolling in their graves at the spectacle of a Spartan behaving like Church.

"That's great Church, glad to hear it." Xander said sincerely.

Truth was that Xander and Church were both worried about Church as he seemed to be falling into a depression.

And no, he did not mean a foxhole.

"Will I still get to help?" Willow asked worried that she may not get to play with the advanced tech.

"I asked they said yes." Church nodded happily.

"Ok, well you fill Willow in, I am gonna get one of these Airman to show me and Buffy to the infirmary the other is gonna take you to see Sha're and Nicky." Xander said indicating the two men at the door.

"I'm coming with Buffy Xander." Joyce said.

"I had better come too, just in case they need to know a slayer related thing." Giles said kissing Jenny and stepping away.

"Oh Xan, apparently there was some sort of attack, Jack got shot by an arrow." Church added.

Xander just groaned. "And you moaned when Tucker didn't report things as soon as he arrived."

It didn't take long to get down to the infirmary. Xander realised that despite the fact that he had no need to visit the infirmary he should have visited at least once so he could teleport people there in an emergency.

"Hey Jack, got a new roomie for ya." Xander quipped.

"Poor soul. Far too young to be subjected to needle wielder of pain." He said theatrically.

"Watch it Colonel, I might decide I need to run more tests because of the arrow." Janet called out from her office.

Jack just shuddered.

As Janet came out Jack led Xander out of the infirmary.

"You picking fights already Jack?" Xander grinned.

"Pfft, the Stargate opened and next thing I know I have a new accessory." He scoffed. "Sam, Daniel and Teal'c have gone to the planet to see who thought I needed a new orifice."

"Xander, Colonel." Hammond greeted them as they entered his office. "Oz just left with SG3 and 4, I instructed them to follow Oz's lead whilst there, they will be operating in plain clothes."

"So what's the deal with Jack the human pin cushion?" Xander asked.

"We'll have to wait and see, the planet is very lush, rich in forests and terrain. We were interested because we found a new metal there, which will be invaluable to our efforts.

"SG11 were there to survey and begin mining, they were overdue to report in, just as I was about to send SG1 to find them the Stargate was activated and Colonel O'Neill was shot." George explained.

"First time I ever got shot with an arrow." Jack mused.

"Either a warning or a declaration of hostilities." Xander said. "Did Sam or Daniel find out anything about the arrow?" He enquired.

"American Indian, Salish tribe." Jack said. "Made with trinium, the metal we wanted."

"Advanced work?" Xander asked.

"Yep." Jack said.

"But the planet doesn't show visible signs of civilisation?"

"Nope, not for the wide area we searched."

"American Indian." Xander mused. "Ok, I'm gonna go and see Sam and the others. American Indian's are big on respecting the earth and communing with animals. I might be able to get them to relate to me with my shape shifting ability."

"One thing." Hammond said halting Xander's escape. "Take that with you." He said pointing to the Xander's sword that was resting by the door where Xander had left it on his way in.

"Oz?" Xander asked.

George just smiled.

"See ya later." Xander said as he grabbed his sword and vanished.

"Huh, what would Jack have to say about this?" Xander wondered as he looked at Sam, Daniel and Teal'c who were all asleep in some sort of building.

"Hey, Sam. Wakey wakey!" Xander cooed as he gently shook the Captain.

Sam being the highly trained soldier she was, awoke quickly and took in her surroundings.

"You here to rescue us Xander?" She asked slightly groggy.

"Erm, you haven't been gone long enough to warrant a rescue. I just figured I'd come in case you needed my kinda backup." Xander shrugged. "Who did _you _manage to piss off? That's Jack's job." He grinned.

"Yuck it up Animal. Go wake Teal'c." She groused.

"Who told you about that nickname!" Xander asked in horror.

"Oz." She said with a sly grin.

"He is so gonna get it." Xander griped as he went to rouse Teal'c.

Soon the present members of SG1 were back on their collective feet. Xander decided to take a wander through the settlement they seemed to be in to see what he could learn.

He strapped his sword to his back using some leather straps he had salvaged. He really needed a better scabbard.

It was quite the peaceful place. Children playing, people working on various crafts. Dinner looked to be served soon. Xander suddenly realised he hadn't eaten in a few days.

His stomach agreed.

Loudly.

"Now that is the sound of an angry stomach." A voice said from behind him.

So far most of the locals had ignored him save for a brief glance. This was the first person to talk to him.

"Yeah, I just realised I haven't eaten in a few days." Xander said with a grin as he turned to greet this new person.

Suffice to say it was an American Indian. Now most of the people in the camp wore clothing that sang of their heritage, but something about this man made you trust him and like him. He seemed very calm and content.

"Hi, I'm Xander." Xander said as he held out his hand.

"I am Tonane." The man said as he grasped his forearm. "Come, we will quell your stomach with good food." Tonane offered.

"Then you will have made me a happy man!" Xander declared smiling broadly. "Would you mind if my friends back there join us?" Xander asked indicating the hut where SG1 was located as he and Tonane sat on some logs placed around the cooking fire.

"You came with them Xander? I did not see you?" Tonane asked in confusion.

"Not so much with them as to them." Xander hedged.

"They called you and you came?" Tonane asked trying to understand.

"No, I just heard from their friends back home that they had come looking for some other friends of theirs who had gone missing. I figured I'd come and see if they needed a hand." Xander said with a shrug. "Of course I arrive to find them sleeping, not a good thing for a bunch of warriors and scholars to tell their leaders." Xander said with mock severity.

"Oh my!" Tonane laughed. "To be fair we did put them to sleep."

Tonane handed Xander a bowl of stew and some bread. "Please eat, I will go and retrieve your friends."

Xander nodded his head in thanks and dug in.

He made a mental note to ask George if he could use the mess hall in an emergency.

Tonane soon returned with SG1.

"Sam has a very long name, Daniel's is almost as long." Tonane remarked as they sat down.

"How is it that you an Teal'c have short names?" He asked with a natural curiosity.

"I don't know about Teal'c but my name is a nickname, short for Alexander Harris." Xander said. We tend to live in very large communities and sometimes a name will be used twice, so we use another name to indicate family." Xander said. "Harris is my family name."

"My people too use a similar method." Teal'c confirmed.

"So, Tonane, got any idea where our wayward friends have vanished?" Xander asked with a smile.

"Oh they are with the spirits." Tonane said simply.

"They're dead?" Daniel asked worriedly.

"No, no, no… with the spirits." Tonane reiterated.

"Any chance we could meet with the spirits, maybe ask if they can return our friends?" Xander asked casually.

"Of course." Tonane said happily.

"Great." Xander responded. "Where you going Sam?" Xander asked as the Captain made to get up.

"Aren't we going to go and get our friends Xander?" She asked pointedly.

"And interrupt a good meal with good people!" Xander said in mock outrage. "Our friends aren't in any danger are they Tonane?"

"Oh no, Xe-ls wouldn't hurt them." He said seriously.

"See, they'll be fine whilst we finish our meal." Xander said accepting another dose of stew from a grinning Tonane.

Sam frowned at Xander, but sat down.

They continued to eat for a while more, Xander asked about Xe-ls and the spirits. Daniel made comments about what was the same on earth.

Eventually they finished eating and Tonane led them into the forest to meet Xe-ls.

Daniel was trying to convince Sam that she should go along with whatever ritual Tonane needed to do to call the spirits.

He got a bit flustered when Tonane started shouting out the names of the spirits.

Eventually they were approached by a wolf.

"T'akaya, my friend. My, your coat shines beautifully today." Tonane told the wolf.

"A little flattery couldn't hurt, Sam." Tonane whispered.

Xander suppressed a snort at this.

"My, what big eyes you have." Sam tried, she really did.

Xander however lost his battle and broke down laughing.

"It's ok Sam, leave it to me." He said as his mirth died down. "Tonane, you're a big old tease." He grinned.

Tonane just smiled back. "She was just too easy." He gave Sam a wink.

"So that's not T'akaya?" Daniel asked in confusion.

"Oh no, that's T'akaya." Xander said. "Tonane was just leading Sam along about the flattery."

"Like I said, too easy." Tonane grinned.

Sam just put her head on Daniel's shoulder in exasperation. Her first command and she was a laughing stock.

They were suddenly greeted by the cawing of a raven.

Daniel attempted to succeed with the raven that was apparently Xe-ls. Despite Teal'c's attempt at helping neither Tonane nor Xe-ls were fooled.

Xander on the other hand was frowning.

"Tonane, would you mind if Xe-ls and I had a little chat alone?" He asked seriously.

"As long as Xe-ls has no problem." Tonane shrugged.

Xe-ls crowed and Tonane waved and moved off.

"Xe-ls and I will catch up." He told SG1.

They knew there was little Xander couldn't handle and he seemed to be handling this situation better than them.

Once Xander was happy that the group was out of earshot he turned to Xe-ls even as T'akaya was circling him, sizing him up.

"I'll cut to the chase." He said. "I know your not animals or animal spirits because I can speak to animals. And I haven't understood a word you said." He told them. "I asked Tonane if we could speak alone so that you could assume your natural form and we could communicate better."

There was a brief pause as the two animals considered the human before them. Then they transformed into two silver clad humanoids… but definitely not human. Not with their gill like lips and nose.

"We do not wish to destroy Tonane's peoples ways, it is why we assumed the form of their spirits." Xe-ls said.

"That's fine, you obviously care about them, that earns you my respect and support." Xander said. "How does Tonane understand you?" He asked curiously.

"Mild telepathy." T'akaya said tersely.

"Cool." Xander shrugged. "Look, we're really here just to get our friends back. We would like to come to a trade arrangement. We thought the area was uninhabited, otherwise we would have approached the Salish first."

"Salish?" T'ayaka asked.

"Tonane's people originate from my planet, we believe they were taken from there by the Goa'uld. There are still Salish tribes on earth. They still hold with many of the same beliefs." Xander explained.

"Trade would not be objectionable but it would cause Tonane and his people to question who we are. The would eventually fear us and hunt us." Xe-ls said.

"I seriously doubt that." Xander said. "Look, Tonane knows about Teal'c, he knows about me. You saw how accepting he was of me, be honest with him, that's all he really wants, honesty."

It was clear that neither Xe-ls nor T'akaya were convinced of this.

"Ok, how about you come with me whilst I show Tonane some of the things in the universe, see how he responds to them and that way we can see if I am right?" Xander suggested.

"Where will you take him?" T'akaya asked.

"Earth mainly. There's a lot of cultural variety, he won't be able to interact much but he'll be able to see things. Very few people on Earth know about the Stargate or the rest of life out in the universe." Xander said. "Also Abydos, I have friends there who have a similar tribal nature to Tonane's people, there he can interact and ask questions freely. And lastly the Nox, they will be the ones that will test Tonane's tolerance and acceptance of other species that are visibly different. The Nox are similar in beliefs to yourself I think."

"And you will not tell Tonane who we truly are unless we agree?" Xe-ls asked suspiciously.

"Nope, I'll explain it privately to Sam and the others but they won't tell, of course they might be a little more accepting if they realise you aren't really animals." Xander admitted.

"They do not like animals?" T'akaya asked.

"It's not that. They just can't communicate with them and don't believe animals have the required intelligence to deal with this type of thing. They love animals though." Xander assured them.

Xe-ls and T'akaya seemed to communicate in silence.

"Very well, we will accompany Tonane as you show him your world." Xe-ls agreed.

"Cool." Xander grinned. "Ok, now first test is to show Tonane an ability of mine, get him to think about things." Xander said. He decided to accompany Xe-ls and T'akaya back to Sam and the others. But he wanted to go as an animal. He could then change back into his human form and show Tonane an aspect of himself.

The thing is he wanted to go as a cool animal, he was a teenager after all. He considered a wolf, but didn't want to be mistaken for T'akaya.

Then he got it. He explained the plan to Xe-ls and Tonane who agreed and then made his change and the three followed the trail to Tonane and the others.

Sam and Teal'c were following Daniel and Tonane who seemed to be wondering aimlessly through the forest, they were discussing the Tonane's culture and the other cultures back home.

Teal'c suddenly went on alert. "Captain Carter, something approaches." He reported as he turned to face the rear.

Sam had her weapon ready but was gently moved aside by Tonane.

"Tonane, maybe you shouldn't-"

"It's just Xe-ls and T'akaya, Sam." Tonane assured her. "They seem to have brought a new friend." He said curiously.

"It's the friend that worries me." Sam said with no small fear as the large wolf was accompanied by a large, lithe black panther.

Fortunately for Sam the panther changed into Xander as soon as it was close. "Sam, your not afraid of l'il ol' me?" Xander mocked with a smile.

Sam just gave him the evil eye.

"Xander, are you a spirit as well?" Tonane asked curiously.

"Ah, no. I'm not like your friends here." He said indicating the wolf and raven. "I am… special." Xander thought for a moment about how to explain it.

Then decided on blatant truth.

"I am the Champion of the Universe." No matter how many times he said that he would always feel like he belonged on a Saturday morning cartoon show.

"Whoa, big job." Tonane said in some awe.

"Yeah, but that title doesn't really cover what I do fully." Xander said. "But it does mean that like your friends I help protect the universe."

"How come we've never heard of you?" Tonane asked.

"I'm fairly new to the job, only been doing it for… erm…" He looked to SG1 for some help.

"About two seasons." Daniel offered.

"That is new!" Tonane exclaimed. "Just how old are you Xander?"

"17 years." He said.

"That would be about 17 winters." Daniel offered.

"You are very young to have such responsibilities placed on you." Tonane said gravely.

"I was offered a choice. I couldn't turn my back on this so I took the job." Xander shrugged.

"If my people can help you Xander I am sure we would be willing." Tonane said.

"I appreciate that Tonane, I hope to be able to spend time with your people, its so nice here, I have a friend who changes into a wolf, I think he would appreciate coming here now and again." Xander said.

"Did the three of you finish your discussion?" Sam asked dubiously.

"Oh yeah." Xander said enthusiastically.

"And you found out about SG11?" Sam asked pointedly.

"Oops." Xander said sheepishly. "Kinda slipped my mind." Xander turned to Tonane. "Would you and T'akaya mind heading back to the village whilst we talk to Xe-ls about our friends?" He asked.

Tonane looked to Xe-ls who cawed. Tonane shrugged and walked off with T'akaya.

"Xander, what's going on?" Sam asked.

"Just a moment Sam." Xander said as he listened carefully. "Ok, they're far enough away. Xe-ls, you might as well show them."

"Xander it's just a bird." Sam said in exasperation.

"Yep, and a minute ago I was just a panther as far as you were concerned." Xander said pointedly.

Xe-ls meanwhile, had flown to the forest floor and was morphing into his humanoid form.

"Sam, this is Xe-ls, Xe-ls meet Sam." Xander said. "And before you ask, no they have no intentions like the Goa'uld, they merely pose as spirits to relate to Tonane and his people better and so they don't freak them out."

Xander eventually managed to snap Sam out of her daze. He was gonna have to think up a way to break Sam from making assumptions and being more open minded though. He'd talk to George about it later.

Introductions made, Xander got the ball started on getting SG11 back. He then decided his job was done so he said he'd meet them all back at the SGC.

He was beginning to think that he needed to let Sam handle this one, he couldn't be there all the time, he had a Hellmouth to watch over.

So Xander said his goodbyes and headed back to the SGC to talk to George and Jack and then go check in with Oz.

George and Jack were discussing various base related things in George's office. Xander made a quick report and told them to call him when they all returned with Tonane and co.

Xander then honed in on Oz and teleported to his location.

Where Oz was in full wolf form and tearing into an invisible entity in the middle of a hospital ward.

Xander turned and approached Colonel Makepeace who was staring in shock and horror as Oz went to work. Behind him his men were trying to contain a dozen or so kids who were cheerfully cheering the large wolf on.

"Colonel, what's going on?" He asked startling the man slightly.

"We, err, had a report of too many child deaths to be a coincidence from one of the AI's, this being the Hellmouth Oz suggested we investigate." He said swallowing hard as Oz was heard to snap something. "We weren't able to see it ourselves, but Oz could track it. We provided support whilst he hunted. We came in here and one of the kids was clearly in trouble and dying but Oz just leapt over the kids bed and started tearing into… it."

There was a sudden silence from Oz's corner. It seemed the perp was down. A loud cheer went up from the kids.

"Having fun?" Xander asked as Oz transformed.

"There's something liberating about being in wolf form." He said.

"Yeah, I know the feeling." Xander said wistfully. "Alright kids, monsters dead and Uncle Oz has to go off and make sure all the other kids are safe. Remember, if anyone asks, Uncle Oz killed the monsters under the bed so you can sleep at night."

"It's probably not smart to let them say anything." Colonel Makepeace frowned.

"They are going to want to say something, if we have them tell it as a story and treat it like one, maybe they won't be thrown in an asylum like Buffy was." Xander explained.

"What the devil is going on in here?" Came an irate female voice. "Alexander Harris, is that you?"

"Hi Nurse Maggie." Xander waved childishly causing the other kids to giggle.

"Alexander, what are you doing here, who are these men and why aren't these kids in bed?" She rattled off.

"Erm… we… I… slumber party?"

"Ma'am, I'm Colonel Makepeace, we were here investigating the local increase in child deaths at this hospital. We discovered foul play and have taken the culprit away. The authorities will be here in the morning to deal with the paperwork."

"Oh good lord!" The thin greying nurse declared. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No Ma'am, just the perp. If you'll excuse us, we'll get these kids back in bed and be out of your hair. We aren't officially here so we'd appreciate you not mentioning us, like I say, some officials will be here in the morning."

"Of course, of course. Not a word." She turned to leave and then remembered the children. "What about the children, they are not really old enough to keep this quiet."

"We explained that they need to talk about it in code and not to any adults, they are to refer to it as a fight between a large dog or wolf and a monster. Once the officials are here they can set up counselling."

"Very well, lets get these rapscallions into bed then." She said as she pasted a cheerful smile on her face with an ease that spoke of years of practice.

Xander shook himself out of his reverie at the sight of one of his favourite nurses in action and turned to Oz. "Anything important we need to worry about?"

"Not really. I think Spike knows that Buffy and the rest are out of town. They don't seem interested in doing anything about it though." Oz said. "It's like they are only interested in confronting her."

"Sooner we dust him the better. I hate it when vamps get organised, makes things harder." Xander growled.

"Even the vamps are laying low, patrol was quiet according to SG4." Colonel Makepeace added.

"Hopefully Buffy will be back up to scratch soon so we can draw Spike out. That way we can just worry about random vamps." Xander said.

Xander then gave a brief report on what was going on at the base. He offered to go and meet up with SG4 to accompany them on the rest of their patrol.

Patrol was quiet, Colonel Makepeace suggested that Xander's family could come back to town and they would maintain patrol until Buffy returned.

Xander and Oz agreed, it was fine for the moment as it was the weekend, but they had school on Monday.

Oz returned to the SGC with Xander to update and check on Buffy.

Xander returned to the SGC briefing room to find SG1, General Hammond, Tonane and Captain Conner watching a mining video.

Tonane did not look pleased.

It was clear that he did not approve of their methods and told them as such. General Hammond asked Daniel to show Tonane about his people on Earth. As good an excuse as any to get the guy out of the room.

Xander could tell that things were wrong in the room, but decided to watch them play out for now. He was curious as to what the SGC would do. Revealing his knowledge would mean that they wouldn't be as honest if they knew Xe-ls was in the room.

And as he guessed it seemed that the higher ups wanted to go behind the backs of the Salish. Xander was pissed, Sam was pissed, Jack was pissed, Conner was livid and Teal'c… well he was as hard to read as Oz but he figured he was pissed too.

"You do realise that I can't and don't support this." Xander said.

"I assumed as much." George nodded. "But it is out of my hands. I don't have the clout to put a stop to it." He sighed.

"Would I have the political power?" Xander asked.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"Well, I'm not just the Champion of the Universe, which, by the way, means I have to tell Tonane what you are planning. I am also a System Lord, the ruler, if you will, of many planets and peoples." Xander said. "There has to be some sort of political pressure I have that I can use. Not to mention asking the Tok'ra."

"He has a point sir. He is a leader on par with the President, but he has far more power." Jack noted.

George folded his hands in concentration.

Conner just looked very intrigued.

Finally the General looked up.

"Lord Xander, are you asking for an official meeting with the President of the United States?" He asked formally.

Xander took the hint and pounced.

"Yes General Hammond, I am formally requesting a meeting. An urgent one too." Xander replied formally.

"Well then," George smiled, "I guess I better go and wake the president."

"Oops." Xander cringed.

"This is important enough, and when some one with as much power as you calls, its best to answer." George reassured him.

"Ok." Xander conceded. "So, Xe-ls, a good enough start for you?" Xander asked 'Conner'.

"How did you know?" 'Conner' asked.

"Please, I can not only change into an animal, I can access their abilities. You smell like Xe-ls." Xander grinned.

Much to the shock of General Hammond and SG1 'Conner' morphed into Xe-ls.

"Colonel O'Neill, General Hammond, I'd like you to meet Xe-ls, they are the guardians of Tonane's people." Xander said smugly.

"So SG11 is…" Jack asked leadingly.

"SG11 is hidden, if you will recall my friends I will reveal them." Xe-ls said.

"I'm afraid we don't respond to blackmail well." George said seriously.

"Oh no!" Xe-ls said realising his error. "I merely meant that in order to avoid confusion to keep our forms consistent for Tonane, it would be best if they knew to revert to animal form, lest you wish to have doubles wandering around." Xe-ls said. "Of course to show I mean it I will reveal SG11, please have them hide until my people can revert." He asked.

"Of course." George said kindly.

SG11 were promptly returned and then shoved in the General's office whilst the fakes were retrieved.

Xander took the opportunity to explain the plan he had put forth to Xe-ls earlier.

George said Xander could ask the President himself when he met with him.

The President was in the room.

Xander was in the room with President Jack Ryan.

Of the United States.

Of America.

This was pretty cool.

But God was still better.

Apparently the President was eager for a chance to try out the teleporter technology. After receiving the urgent request for a meeting with Lord Xander, a feared and respect System Lord, the President had ordered his transportation to the mountain.

Xander had to remember that he was far more powerful than the President. That his boss' boss was _The_ Boss.

Thinking about God helped Xander focus. The last thing anyone wants to do is disappoint the Almighty.

It took some hard-balling, some mild and subtle threats of embargos and withdrawal of various things, but the President agreed to Xander's terms. They would do nothing without the knowledge and support of the Salish and their guardians.

As the President got up to leave he took Xander's hand and leaned in close.

"I was worried you wouldn't have anything to use against me." He moved back gave Xander a wink.

"Don't be a stranger." He said as he was teleported away.

Xander stood there, bewildered.

The man had basically told him that he wanted Xander to win.

He looked at George.

"Politics is all about saving face. He needed a solid reason to say no to the proposers. Otherwise they would accuse him of being soft." George explained. "To be honest he has had to clean up plenty of messes when he was with the CIA. You just saved him from having to deal with another."

Xander figured that despite his immortality, he was likely to go grey.


	14. Chapter 14

Tonane was offered the chance to have a tour with Xander. George made sure that it would be done during the coming summer break so Xander wouldn't be overwhelmed as he still had school.

Tonane was displeased that the leaders of Earth had little respect, but a quiet word about the meeting with the President made him feel a little better. Tonane left with some good friends. And a red face when he was eventually told he had accidentally hit Jack with his arrow. Jack couldn't hold it against him though, Tonane was too likeable.

The Sunnydale gang was cleared for a return home. Buffy had recovered and was mobile. George insisted that SG3 and 4 stay in Sunnydale for another day while she tested herself on her first patrol.

The day after Oz had taken down the demon in the hospital, the two officers who had been sent to clean up as the 'officials' returned with an important package for Oz.

Oz was currently informing Buffy on the night's activities.

"Mr. Osborne?" One of the men enquired.

"Who?" Buffy asked.

"Me." Oz said simply.

"You're Oz." Buffy stated slightly bewildered.

"Which is short for Osborne, Daniel Osborne." He explained with a slight smile.

Buffy just stared at him for a few seconds. "My entire life feels like a lie." She deadpanned.

Their attention was drawn by the snickering officers. "Mr… Oz, we were given a package with strict instructions to deliver it to 'Mr. Wolf' or Uncle Oz." The older officer said handing over a large manila envelope before heading out.

"'Uncle Oz'"? Buffy asked with a smirk.

"I could always take my package elsewhere and leave you on your own." Oz threatened good naturedly.

"I'll be good!"

Oz chuckled and emptied the contents of the envelope onto Buffy's blanket covered lap.

"This is so not fair!" Buffy winged. "In all my time saving people and killing vamps, I never even got a thank you… I leave the store in your hands for one night and you get immortalised in picture!"

"Think you could get your mom to frame these and hang them in her gallery?" Oz asked as he slowly flipped through the various children's drawings of him in his wolf form destroying the monster.

"Seriously?" She asked incredulously.

"Only some of them, I want some for my place and some for the mess hall here."

"JANET! What did you put in my IV?" Buffy called out, she had to be hallucinating.

George had been worried about Xander. The young man had been very busy and had little time to rest.

He clearly trusted people to be able to handle things themselves. He trusted Sayel to manage his territories and Oz to handle the Hellmouth while Buffy was ill.

Xander just checked up on things and occasionally offered support. Such as patrolling with SG4 while Buffy was down.

George decided to arrange a vacation for the Champion, he knew he might be called away at a moments notice, but he would spend the rest of the time relaxing.

He managed to enlist an enthusiastic and supportive Gaia to help.

"He's still human, mentally at least. He can burn out just as easily as anyone else. So can I as my mentality leans towards human, I've just had millions of years to adapt. Xander will too eventually, but he needs support till he does." Gaia explained.

So the goddess and the general conspired to give the young boy a relaxing and enjoyable vacation.

Meanwhile things started to get back to a routine for a week or so back in Sunnydale. Spike had apparently left town. Not that anybody was complaining. Word was that with Drusilla still so ill, Sunnydale was too dangerous for her, so Spike was moving on to find her cure.

Buffy and Oz had taken to patrolling and sparring together. They were developing a good partnership. Oz had taken Buffy with him to visit the kids in the hospital and soon they were both being sent pictures of a yellow haired girl and her dog taking out monsters and bad men.

Gaia turned up complaining about humans messing around with her hard work. Apparently a section of the government and military had sanctioned the theft of a gift from Gaia on another planet.

Gaia was pissed. She grabbed Xander and sent him straight to the device. He promptly succeeded in retrieving it but couldn't apprehend the thieves. SG1 was a mite surprised when Xander turned up on Madrona with the device and an explanation on what had happened.

Jack was furious and stormed back to the mountain to find out more. Xander assured the Madronans that SG1 were good people and not responsible. Madrona was placed under the care of Sayel, by Xander.

Gaia was unfortunately chewed out by the Almighty and Michael for so blatantly interfering. She was within her rights to have Xander handle it, but not to send him to the device.

Gaia knew she was wrong, but found it hard to care when everyone also agreed that she had been wronged. Even God.

But there would be consequences. Xander would need to deal with them, and Gaia couldn't interfere.

The SGC had a brief issue with a black hole. Sam, the Tok'ra and the AI's managed to disengage the Stargate which was threatening to suck the planet into it. SG10 was looking at certain doom.

Xander and Oz had taken a cargo ship and after a quick training session and extra lessons on route via communications, they were headed for the black hole. Xander couldn't teleport there as he didn't know SG10 well enough and he didn't know the planet. Gaia was a little gun-shy of interfering.

Xander said it wouldn't really matter as the black hole slowed down time on the other end so they could fly there and teleport back.

Xander had refused to let SG1 come as unlike him and Oz, they weren't immortal and the time issues couldn't really affect them physically.

Sam had no argument for that one.

A journey that seemed like a week for Xander and Oz, actually took two months for the SGC, and only a few hours for SG10.

They arrived at the planet, Xander ringed down to retrieve the SG team.

Oz moved the ship back to a safe distance.

Xander then teleported everyone back to the SGC.

They were greeted by a frantic SG1, General Hammond and Gaia.

"About time you got back." Gaia quipped cheekily.

"Hey guys, what's the what?" Xander asked.

"Ok, first, you've been gone two months." Sam said.

"Thank goodness Delta downloaded the lesson plans before we left." Xander mused.

"As I recall, you complained every day." Delta said appearing next to him.

"Hey! It's still school work!" Xander argued in mock seriousness.

"Second!" Sam interrupted before they could build up steam. "There is a ghost problem at the school. Two people get possessed and one of them winds up with a gun and kills the other."

"Everyone ok?" Oz asked.

"The gang is fine, we closed the school citing a gas leak. We issued them with bulletproof vests and helmets. But the shots are always in the chest." Sam assured them.

"They are waiting to see if the ghosts will reveal themselves." George added.

"Third, the Colonel is going nuts and only Gaia can understand him. She says she can't tell us what he says though, as she's not allowed. You can though." Sam said earning a glare from Jack and some weird words.

"Ok, I can't understand a word he says. Definitely not English or animal." Xander shrugged.

"That's ridiculous. It's part of your powers. You won't be much use if you can't understand the people you protect!" Gaia said in frustration.

"Hate to be the one to ask this, but did you remember to activate that power?" Oz asked.

Gaia just stared at Oz for a good 10 seconds.

"DAMN IT!" She shouted in frustration.

"I think that was a 'no'." Oz remarked.

"Ok Jack, try now." She sighed.

_"It really scares me when the goddess of the universe gets forgetful."_ Jack said.

Xander knew he was speaking a foreign language, but he could understand it.

Gaia could also understand and was glaring at Jack.

"You get that Xander?" Sam asked.

"Yes, but unlike Jack I value my life so I refuse to repeat it." SG10 just snickered at the infuriated look on Jack's face.

"Aw, isn't he perfectly trained?" Gaia cooed theatrically.

This broke the straw for SG10 who broke down in fits of laughter as SG1 and General Hammond smothered grins.

Jack looked ready to pop and Xander was scowling.

"SG10, you are on stand down for two weeks. You families are expecting you home, they have been informed that you were sent on an emergency mission that would take time but were perfectly safe. Report to the infirmary for a check up and a quick de-briefing." Hammond ordered.

SG10 trundled out giving their thanks to Oz and Xander again for saving their hides.

They were all smart men. They saw the hole in the sky and knew what it meant. They didn't expect to leave the planet.

"I'm gonna head back to Sunnydale, see what I can do to help out with the ghost issue." Oz said as he headed off to speak to the officer in charge of that amazing piece of tech known as the teleporter.

"Sure, I guess I'm stuck with Jack acting as translator." Xander said. Jack just stuck his tongue out at him.

"Gaia, does this mean I can speak these languages now?" He asked the goddess.

"Not exactly, but anyone can understand you. Just like you understand Jack. It comes in useful when acting as a translator between two peoples." She explained. "You can also read anything."

Daniel suddenly had an unholy gleam in his eye.

"I am not your personal translating machine Daniel!" Xander said noticing that look. "Can you imagine what will happen when Giles finds out!" Xander moaned.

Jack just burst out laughing.

"Yeah, yeah. Just remember _you_ need _me_ to be understood." That shut Jack up pretty quick.

Oz smirked to himself as he headed back to Sunnydale. Babysitting Jack would hopefully be an easy job, Xander could do with a rest.

Oz found himself in Giles' office at the library. The Sunnydale designated landing spot for the teleporter.

"For the record, Sunnydale High has _three_ janitors closets." Oz commented as he found himself watching Giles and Jenny inspecting each other's fillings.

"OZ!" Jenny squealed.

The two 'adults' hastily rearranged their clothing.

"I suppose we have no one but ourselves to blame." Giles said blushing.

"And nothing to be ashamed of." Oz said seriously. "Trust me, we are all very happy that you two are happy."

"It's nice of you to say Oz." Jenny smiled, she recovered her equilibrium much quicker than Giles.

"Did you say three janitors closets?" Giles suddenly asked.

"Yeah, still not clear why though." Oz frowned.

"Maybe it's a Hellmouth thing." Jenny shrugged.

Both men just looked at her.

"I didn't say it explained it, just that that might be a reason." She defended.

Giles shook himself. "So Oz, your journey was safe?"

"Yeah, fairly boring. We kept up on our studies though, Delta made sure to download what we needed before we left."

"Excellent, I trust you will graduate this year?" Giles said pointedly.

"General Hammond has said that if necessary they'll test me out of school at the mountain." Oz smiled, there had been a slight bit of upset when it turned out that Oz was Willow smart but unfortunately a slacker.

His new role as a werewolf had forced him to reconsider his choices and he realised he needed to start, granted he had an eternity, but he didn't want to be struggling for most of it.

"So, entire school is evacuated, you two pick the one place where people are known to appear unexpectedly to make out… and neither of you are wearing protection." Oz surmised.

Unfortunately the two adults mistook Oz's meaning and looked outraged.

"Now see here Oz! I'll not have you making such crass remarks." Giles said outraged.

Oz just raised an eyebrow.

This caused Jenny to realise what he meant.

"Oh!" She said as she quickly ducked behind the desk to retrieve their bulletproof vests.

"Oh dear, Oz I'm so-"

"Don't sweat it Giles." Oz cut off the man's apology. "Just so long as you are defending each other I don't mind. I am however disappointed that you removed your vests in what amounts to a combat zone." He frowned.

"Yes, unfortunately we got carried away." Giles said sheepishly.

Oz decided to refrain from commenting on that one.

"So where is Buffy?" He asked.

"Making a quick sweep through the cemeteries with Church and the Coffin Staker." Jenny said.

"And you're here because?" Oz asked leadingly.

"Just in case the ghosts appear." Giles said not understanding the problem.

"And possess you and make you kill each other?" He asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, I suppose there might be a lack of logic in there." Giles conceded.

"Why don't you head home, I'll wait here for Buffy. If the ghosts possess us then I'm fairly safe and Buffy can hopefully heal quicker from any damage that makes it through the vest." Oz suggested.

"Very well, but call us if any thing happens." Giles ordered. "Where is Xander by the way?" No one really worried about Xander's safety, he could teleport out of danger easily enough.

"Jack has a problem and can't communicate. Gaia can understand him but can't translate as it's against the rules. She unfortunately forgot to activate Xander's ability to understand other languages and communicate." Oz said with a small smirk.

"She does seem to be rather forgetful around him." Jenny returned the smirk.

"I seem to be missing the point?" Giles said looking for clarification.

"Don't worry Rupert, it's nothing you need to worry about." Jenny said giving the librarian a kiss on the cheek as she dragged him out the door.

Oz wandered out into the library to hunt down some books on the test he had coming up. He didn't know how long it would be till Buffy turned up.

* * *

"So you need to build this thing and go through the gate, but you don't know why?" Xander asked summarising Jack's latest words for the rest of SG1 and General Hammond.

_"Yes, but it has to hook into the gate to give it more juice, where going to a place with eight chevrons."_ Jack said.

"Eight chevrons?" Xander repeated. "He says his device will hook into the Stargate and take him to a place with eight chevrons… what sort of place has eight chevrons."

"Theoretically, another galaxy." Sam said.

"'Theoretically' does _not_ fill me with confidence Sam." Xander said.

_"Me neither, but my gut says it will be safe."_ Jack added.

"Ok, Jack says it should be safe." Xander translated. "I say let him build it, we'll use a gate on an abandoned planet and go through. I can bring us back from another galaxy, we'll be fine as long as it's not another dimension." Xander said.

"I agree General. It's the Colonel's only hope." Sam said.

_"Thank you princess Leia."_ Jack quipped.

"I only needed to understand the word 'Leia', sir." Sam scowled.

Jack just looked sheepish while George and the rest of SG1 smothered their grins.

George cleared his throat. "Very well, build your device Colonel, but do it with the scientists of the SGC and the Tok'ra watching, we might as well try and learn what we can and hopefully prepare for any disasters that the device might bring."

"I'll be there so Delta can record the whole thing too." Xander nodded.

"Very well, carry on people." George dismissed them.

* * *

Buffy had returned to the library an hour later. With Spike and Drusilla out of town the rest of the vamps didn't know about Jeff. So the vampire population dwindled to just vamp outsiders.

The outsiders were older though, at least 50 years. Quite a few masters. Their experience was lacking though as they hadn't had to encounter much more than the average human hunter.

Still, the nights were slightly more boring for the most part and the occasional fight a tough one.

Buffy had learnt the value of teamwork and having back up. With Xander and Oz frequently busy at the SGC, Buffy decided to ask Giles to request Kendra return to Sunnydale.

The truth was Buffy worried about her sister slayer. They wrote to each other, it seemed she was on her own with her Watcher.

Buffy had her Watcher, Xander, Oz and even Janet at the SGC meaning Xander had not needed to find them a doctor. It wasn't right, she would have Kendra sent here on the pretext that she needed help.

For now though she needed to get to the library to help with the ghost problem. Xander and Oz would return soon, they might be able to help.

Xander. Their relationship had drastically changed. Xander had once professed his feelings for her and she had to let him down. Some how Xander had managed to keep his feelings to himself. She was impressed.

Now though, they lived in the same house. They were pretty much brother and sister. They acted like it too.

Oz. Ever the enigma. He spoke very simply. But when he did speak it was usually important. Oz seemed to be like a tower of safety. Xander was the one who went forth and attacked. But Oz was the place where people could hold up safely.

Oz was the one who reported back on Sunnydale activities while she was out with the flu. He also seemed to enjoy reminding her of their first meeting where she pinned him against a locker. Whenever possible Oz would insist Buffy use him as a sparring partner as he was just as strong and durable as Buffy was.

The truth was she actually missed Oz more than Xander. Oz had an understated humour, he also actively helped her cope with the Slaying. Xander tried, but more recently he had become split between Sunnydale and the SGC. Oz had pointed out to her that his responsibilities were to the entire Universe, that was why Oz was appointed to take care of Sunnydale in Xander's absence.

They tended to patrol together, Buffy would talk a mile a minute and Oz would just listen. Sometimes he'd offer his opinion or insight.

She had been looking to set up Willow and Oz, it was clear that Oz didn't see Willow that way. But Oz and Willow seemed to be more comfortable as fellow nerds.

"Watcha thinking?" Church asked as he walked beside Buffy.

"Oh just thinking about life on the Hellmouth, the usual." She said offhandedly.

"Xander and Oz are due back today, at least according to the AI's." He said casually.

"Yeah, it'll be much safer with them back." Buffy said.

"Safer, yeah. That's what it'll be." The Spartan clad apparition said with an audible smirk.

"What?" Buffy asked in confusion.

"Nothing, just thinking you seem to be a bit more… wistful today than you normally are, only difference about to day is Oz and Xander returning."

"They _are_ very important to me." She said.

"I know, just wondering if you know." He said somewhat cryptically.

Buffy was unable to query that one as they reached the library to find Oz reading various books. He appeared to be cross-referencing.

"Oz, apocalypse?" Buffy asked worriedly.

"Only if I get my chemistry equations wrong." Oz remarked with a small smile.

"Thank goodness." Buffy said in relief as she sank into a chair.

"No Xander?" Church asked.

"No, Jack's been affected by something. Xander needs to stay around and translate." Oz said.

"Jack's speaking the language of Twinkies?" Buffy asked in confusion.

Oz chuckled at that. "No, apparently Xander is supposed to be able to understand any language and everyone is supposed to be able to understand him, regardless of the fact that he will pretty much always speak English."

"New ability?" Church asked.

"Yep, seems Gaia forgot to activate it." He said with that same smile.

"We should start a pool." Buffy said with a bright smile.

"Somehow I don't think Gaia will bring it up until God or the angels force her to." Oz snorted.

"Is that your bet?" Buffy asked him with a smile.

Oz thought about it for a moment. "Sure, why not." He shrugged. "Shall we walk the building?"

Buffy nodded and the three of them headed off to see if everything was ok. Church would slip into locked rooms to check them.

"So what's the deal with this ghost thing?" Oz asked. All he really knew was there were some ghosts that were possessing people.

"You can't make me disappear just because you say it's over."

Oz was confused. What did this have to do with the ghosts. And when did he say 'what' was over.

The next thing he knew his body was speaking and he didn't appear to be in the driver's seat.

"There's no way we can be together. No way people will ever understand. Accept it."

Oz didn't have a clue what his body was talking about, and he most definitely didn't think he and Buffy couldn't be together. His mind put two and two together and came up with ghost.

Church having heard the shouting came running.

"Let me guess, you two got possessed." He sighed.

He knew this was due to end badly. There wasn't a thing he could do without a body in the real world. He made a decision and jumped into Oz's mind.

* * *

Jack was beginning to sweat.

Janet was getting really worried. But Xander had said that this was the only chance at a cure. A little hard to doubt someone who has a goddess trusting him.

According to Xander, Jack claimed he was nearly finished. Another hour tops and they would be on their way through the Stargate to… wherever eight chevrons took them.

_"Xander, you think I'll make it?"_ Jack asked not looking up from his work.

"Honestly? No idea." Xander said. "But then I wasn't expecting you to die in the first place. Besides, you seem to know what your doing."

_"I know NOTHING about what I'm doing."_ Jack said. _"Whatever I'm doing, I'm working on pure instinct. It's a good job no one asked me to write down the plans, I wouldn't know where to start."_

"As far as I'm concerned, as long as whatever you're doing cures you, just keep going." Xander said.

Jack just nodded and kept going.

* * *

Somehow Church wasn't surprised to find that Oz's mind was a serene meadow landscape with a forest nearby.

Of course his only other real experience was Caboose. He was hoping he didn't have to deal gender challenged soldiers and… pirates.

"Got any ideas?"

Church spun around to find Oz standing there.

"Oz, this is your mind, this is a representation of your mind." He explained. He just hoped Oz was smarter than Caboose.

Who was he kidding, Harmony was smarter than Caboose.

Slightly.

"Yeah, kinda figured that one on my own." Oz nodded. "So, what? Find the ghost?"

"And quickly." He nodded. "We need to find out if you're the shooter or the shootee."

"Say again?" Oz asked in surprise.

"You don't know what's going on?" Church asked in shock.

"Buffy was about to explain." Oz said.

"Damn. Ok, lets look while I explain." The two moved off, pretty much following the sound of a wailing female that spoiled the peaceful vista.

Church explained in more detail about the teacher and the student whose love affair ended in a murder suicide.

"So I might be the girl in this scenario?" Oz asked with a raised eyebrow.

Church just snickered.

They eventually came across the ghost. Oz _was_ the girl. Or woman in this case.

She was wailing and crying. Generally a mess. She didn't appear to be violent.

"So what do we do?" Oz asked.

"Don't ask me, I'm just glad you don't have a version of me in here." Church muttered.

"But he does have a version of _me_." Said a voice behind them.

"Buffy?" Oz asked.

"Just your minds representation of Buffy." She said. She was dressed in a light summer dress that seemed appropriate for the meadow.

"Now I wonder why she would be in here." Church mused cheekily.

Oz scowled.

"Lay off, Church." Mind-Buffy said.

"Ok, we need a plan." Oz said frowning.

"The plan is simple." Mind-Buffy said. "I kick her ecto-plasmic ass out of here and into the next life." She said cracking her knuckles as her outfit changed in a pair of leather pants and white blouse she wore when hunting at times.

"Man, Oz, you sure know how to pick 'em."

"Says the guy whose last girlfriend took out two whole platoons on her own."

"Good point." Church conceded.

"Ok, I better head over to Buffy… I am really not looking forward to seeing what goes on in a teenage girls mind."

"Better hurry, there's no telling what sort of time difference-"

The mindscape sky suddenly turned blood red and the vegetation turned brown withering and dying. Mind Buffy grew enraged and ripped into the ghost.

"Better hurry, I think I just got shot, no telling how long you have till the other ghost makes Buffy commit suicide."

Church just vanished, reappearing in Buffy's mind.

"Buffy's mind is the Bronze… makes sense." Came a very familiar voice.

"Oz?"

* * *

_"You sure you can get us back if we go through that thing?"_ Jack asked as he and Xander stood in front of the gate on the Tok'ra's former planet that was now connected to a place that used eight chevrons.

"You sure you'll live another hour if you don't go through that thing?" Xander retorted.

Jack just shrugged and walked through the shimmering surface. Xander following closely.

* * *

"Oz, is that you?" Church asked in awe.

"Yeah, not sure how I managed to get from my mind to Buffy's, hope I can get back though."

"Church? Is that you?" Buffy asked, fear clearly colouring her voice.

"Yeah, its Oz too… we're not sure how he got here though." Church said.

"Any idea where the ghost is?" Oz asked.

"Oh yeah, he's out on the dance floor… alone." Buffy said pointing at the depressed being swaying to some very old music.

"Looks like he's about to get ready to do his thing." A new voice said.

"I really hope you're a mind version of Xander." Buffy said. She didn't like all these people being in her head. This was private!

"Yeah, I'm just your representation of Xander." He said giving her a brotherly hug. "Oz would've been here but he said he wasn't needed as you have the real thing."

"Huh, Oz has a mind Buffy and Buffy has a mind Oz. Whatever could that mean?" Church asked theatrically.

Oz scowled while Buffy blushed.

"Yes, yes. You can sort it out later. For now Oz, you guard Buffy, I'll eliminate the threat. We work best that way." Xander said as he marched up to the ghost and started pounding on it without ceremony.

"Ok, you seem to have this handled, I'm gonna head out and get the SGC to retrieve you and Oz. Might need to make sure your all in one piece." Church said as he faded out.

"One piece?" Buffy asked with fear.

"I think we reached the part where he shot the teacher." Oz said nodding to where Xander was pounding on the ghost.

"Is that why you're here? Because your dead?" She asked tears filling her eyes.

"I doubt it." Oz said pulling her into a comforting hug. "I'm a true werewolf remember? I'm supposed to be harder to kill than Xander."

Buffy just hugged him back, she hoped he was right.

* * *

"Is it me or do these guys look like-"

_"Roswell aliens?"_ Jack finished.

"Yeah, guess that explains a lot." Xander said. "Still not sure what it explains, but hey, it explains something."

Jack suddenly stumbled, Xander just catching him.

_"Think we could hurry this along?"_ Jack said wincing.

Two of the aliens approached the travellers.

"Err, greetings." Xander said.

_"Yeah, nice to meet you guys."_ Jack added. He really hoped someone other than Xander could understand him.

"Your friend speaks the language of the Ancients." One of the little guys said.

"Yeah, that's kinda the reason we're here." Xander said. "He got his head stuck somewhere and got a whole load of stuff downloaded and now it's killing him."

"Indeed, the knowledge was not meant for one such as him." One of them said as it held out his hand to Jack's head.

A beam of light, like a stream of water appeared between the alien's hand Jack's head. They stayed this way for a few moments when the light stopped, and Jack collapsed.

Xander knew these guys weren't demons, but he checked Jack just to make sure he was ok.

"We have removed the knowledge, your friend will be fine." One of them said.

"Cool. So who are you guys?"

"We are the Asgard. We are familiar with your species and planets." One of them said.

"Been to Earth then?" He guessed.

"Many times."

Xander thought for a minute. "Do you guys have a government or central body in charge?"

"We do. You wish to speak to them?" They asked.

"It would probably be best. I will personally be around a lot, it might be better to explain who I am and why I turn up." Xander said.

"We will request the presence of one of the council." One of the said as it moved off.

"Thanks."

"Oh my aching head." Jack moaned.

"Well, at least you seem to be speaking English again." Xander said in relief.

"Sweet." Jack moaned.

"Human physiology has not yet advanced to the point where your brain could handle that technology." The remaining Asgard said.

"I can vouch for that." Jack said as he rose to his feet.

There was a flash of light and two more Asgard appeared.

"This is one of the members of the Asgard Council, Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard fleet." Said the alien who appeared to be the one who left.

"Greetings. You requested a meeting?" Thor said.

"We did?" Jack asked.

"I did, we are in the same universe, so you know, my jurisdiction, figured I should introduce myself." Xander said

"Ah, right." Jack agreed.

"Your jurisdiction?" Thor asked.

"Yeah, I'm known as Lord Xander, Champion of the Universe. Please feel free to call me Xander though." Xander said.

"An intriguing title." Thor said. "How did you come about it?"

"I was noticed by the Goddess of the Universe and The Creator. The Creator pointed me out to the Goddess as a suitable choice for her Champion. And here I am." Xander said.

"Just so you know, he has no interest in conquering, enslaving, ruling or any other such crap." Jack said. "He's pretty much the Universal Police or troubleshooter." Jack said, not wanting to have them think Xander was the equivalent of the Goa'uld.

"Oh, this is Colonel Jack O'Neill of Earth's Stargate Command. He tends to go exploring a lot… and pissing off the Goa'uld." Xander said.

"Hey!" Jack cried indignantly.

Xander just grinned.

"We are aware of the Creator, but have not heard of this Goddess, she is not a Goa'uld?" Thor asked.

"Whatever you do, don't ask her that. She hates the Goa'uld." Xander said. "Lets see if she's available." Xander said. "Gaia?"

"Huh, this is the farthest you've been!" Gaia said appearing next to Xander.

"Gaia, this is Thor, Thor, Gaia." Xander introduced.

"Ah, the Asgard." She said knowingly. "And Thor himself no less. Thank you for all the work you did with the humans on Earth during your time there." She said.

"Huh?" Jack asked eloquently.

"Thor here posed as the actual God of Thunder to the Norse people. He is the inspiration for the myth."

"Wow, he seems nicer than the others who posed as Earth gods." Jack noted.

"The Asgard do similar work to Xander, keeping some semblance of order in the universe." Gaia said.

"It is an honour to meet you." Thor said with a small bow.

"Like wise." Gaia said inclining her head. "Yes, the Asgard will be good people for you to know. They might be able to teach you some things about how to deal with the universe."

"Any chance you guys can lend a hand in our galaxy? Xander's good, gut even he can't take on everyone." Jack asked.

"We already participate in your galaxy, for the most part it has been a matter of protecting various planets from the Goa'uld, but we are stretched too thin to effectively hamper them." Thor said.

"Well, why don't you guys discuss considering an alliance. We humans are always looking for new friends." Jack offered.

"It appears that you have achieved a state where you are advanced enough for us to interact openly." Thor conceded. "I will raise the issue with the Council."

"Cool." Xander said. "Well, we should probably head back, to the SGC, if you need our help, feel free to ask." Xander said as he placed a hand on Jack's shoulder.

They exchanged a bow, and Xander and Jack vanished with Gaia.

"Impressive." Thor mused at the power they exhibited.


	15. Chapter 15

Jack, Xander and Gaia arrived in the SGC former gate room. Which was now the designated teleportation arrival room.

After a brief round of "we're friendlies" with the on duty airmen, the three headed up to see General Hammond.

"Jack! All cured?" He asked, sometimes rank was improper and the SGC staff knew this.

"All good General, even met some new friends." Jack said exchanging a handshake with his CO.

"Sounds like an interesting report." George noted.

"I was out of it for a bit, so Xander might have to write that one." Jack grinned.

"Like hell I do!" Xander said in horror. Paperwork, the universal nightmare.

"Of course you could always accept my visual and audio records and I could download a transcription and report into the SGC computers." Delta added as he appeared on the General's desk.

"My hero!" Jack said theatrically.

"Fine, but you two have to review it and sign it." George said.

The two clowns just shrugged.

"Gaia, I assume they called you in?" He said addressing the goddess.

"Yes, they wanted a second voice to confirm Xander's status." She said.

"Well, as you two are here, you should know that Church called in an emergency at the school. Buffy and Oz were possessed. Oz was the teacher and got shot, but is perfectly fine. The pair are in the infirmary being checked out. Church managed to help them take back control and they defeated the ghosts." George reported.

"Who shot who with the what now?" Xander asked bewildered.

"No one told you about the possessed shootings?" George asked.

"All I knew was Oz headed back to Sunnydale to help with a ghost problem. I've been tethered to Jack since we got back from the black hole."

George led Xander down to the infirmary as he explained the situation in detail.

They arrived to find Buffy and Oz in adjacent beds. Church standing guard.

Buffy was complaining loudly about being kept in bed whilst fine, Oz was just watching her with a small smile.

"You know you could complain a bit too!" She said to Oz, neither had noticed their spectators.

"I was taught you never interrupt a lady." Oz said simply.

Buffy managed to blush and roll her eyes. It also had the effect of shutting her up.

"So I leave you on your own for one day and you get shot." Xander mused from the doorway. "By Buffy no less."

"Hey!" Buffy squeaked.

"I am not permitted to speak of what happened." Church said solemnly. "But I won the pool!" He said excitedly.

"What pool?" Buffy asked.

"Damn it!" You couldn't wait one day!" Jack groused.

"I don't know why your complaining Colonel, I had them down for yesterday." George said dryly.

"_What_ pool?" Buffy asked more insistently.

"Oh you know, the one about when you or Oz would get it together and ask each other out." Jack said.

"And just _who_ was in this pool?" Buffy asked indignantly.

Oz was just pleased she hadn't denied it.

"Everyone that knows you." Xander said. "The Scoobies, SG1, George, Sha're, your mom-"

"MY _MOTHER!_" Buffy squealed.

"Buffy, super hearing." Oz winced.

"Oops, sorry."

"Even the Metatron and God wanted in, though we think God was teasing." Gaia said.

"The Almighty was betting on my love life?" Buffy asked incredulously.

"Wouldn't have been much of a bet, Buffy. She knows _everything_ after all." Gaia reminded her.

"Hmm, I wonder if she could tell us about another certain couple." Buffy said smiling sweetly at Gaia.

Gaia just gave her a horrified look as everyone else looked innocent.

"Who?" Xander asked.

"Don't worry Xan, it's a girls secret." Buffy said much to Gaia's relief.

"Oz?" Xander tried.

"You really think that if I did know I would interfere with female secrets… least of all my new girlfriends?" Oz said wryly.

"Aw, I'm his girlfriend!" Buffy squealed happily.

"Why are you two stuck down here?" Jack asked.

"Personally I think Janet is either very lonely or looking to do experiments." Buffy said loudly.

"A bit of the second one." Janet said as she exited her office. "You had a supernatural experience, I am documenting the effects so that if something happens like this again, I will be able to tell what the effects are." She explained. "That and you cost me the pot." She said sweetly.

Buffy just stuck her tongue out.

"However, this has made me realize that I don't have a base line for any of the Sunnydale group. I need them all back here at some point. I need to know what is normal for them in case I need to treat them. At the moment Buffy's physical parameters say she's on steroids." Janet turned to face Xander. "This means you too. Gaia, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't mind going through it as well, I don't know if it will be of any use, but I prefer to be safe."

"I don't mind, sometimes it's just fun to be here, gives me an excuse to visit with Nicky and Jordy." She grinned.

"Just how often does she turn up here?" Xander asked George quietly.

"Every few days. She and Sha're seem to have a girls time, now and then Gaia takes them on trips." George said.

They were suddenly interrupted by Sam, Teal'c and Daniel arriving.

Sam took one look at Xander grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him on the lips. She then proceeded to do the same to Oz.

"Hey! That's my boyfriend." Buffy said indignantly.

"Really? Damn, lost the pool." Sam said happily.

"And yet you look like you won the lottery, not that I'm complaining, but what's with the kissage?" Xander asked in confusion.

"The data from the black hole is coming through, you never told us you set that up." Sam said giving him a mock frown.

"We just figured that if we were gonna lose the ship, it might as well get put to use." Xander said.

"The Tok'ra are going nuts, they've never been able to do something like this. Don't be surprised if Dad and Selmak try and kiss you too!" Sam said. "We are going to be studying this for decades!"

"Probably a lot longer than that." Oz remarked.

"What? Why?" Daniel asked.

"Oz had the idea to put the ship into a pre-programmed auto-pilot. Delta made the calculations and the ship will now continuously readjust it's position so that as long as it has power, it will never get sucked into the hole." Xander said.

Sam just stood there gaping at them.

"I think you guys broke her." Church said.

Sam was completely dazed.

Eventually she just started muttering. "We're gonna be studying for centuries, we will even see the system's sun get pulled in."

She continued listing the various things they would see and learn.

Xander led her to a bed and Janet helped her lie down.

"I've seen her do this before, she'll be fine, but she might need some time off when she works herself too hard." Janet said.

"Right, now we just need to find a way to tell the Tok'ra without sending all of them into a catatonic state." Jack remarked.

"It is good to see you are well O'Neill." Teal'c said.

"Thank you Teal'c." Jack said pointedly. "Nice to know someone remembers my recent near death experience."

* * *

She was dead.

He was back.

Giles had called them all together one day in library and told them the awful truth.

Kendra was dead.

The reason behind Spike's interest in Buffy was revealed in this act. He believed a Slayer's blood would heal his sire, Drusilla.

And it had.

They had travelled to Jamaica to hunt the second slayer. Kendra was an excellent fighter. But Spike had beaten two Slayers previously.

He had another to add to his belt.

Now though there was another piece of devastating news. The act of balance that the Almighty had warned of had come to pass.

Angelus had been returned to this dimension, he had already begun building his armies and taunting Buffy.

But the final blow came from the additional requirement to the balance.

Xander was banished from Sunnydale as long as Angelus was there. The orders were backed up by The Almighty.

Gaia was beyond furious, Buffy was terrified.

Xander had left everything but his sword and Spartan gear. His final words to Oz were:

"Never leave her side and kill the bastard."

To Giles though he told him he wanted the new Slayer in Sunnydale before he got back. So long as he lived Xander would not allow another Slayer to fight alone.

And then he vanished. Headed for the SGC where they would continue his schooling and he could still do some good.

George had sent two SG teams, 3 and 4 again, to help out in Xander's place. As far as George was concerned it still wasn't a fair exchange, especially not with Xander's armour.

Church promised to also stick by Buffy in case he could re-possess Angelus again.

The Tok'ra had also finished his new body. Willow having been transported to Abydos and back again to assist and provide input.

Church now had the body of a twenty-something, decent build, dark hair, brown eyes. He could pass for Xander's brother. He was officially an American citizen. Leonard Church.

Willow was quite the celebrity among the Abydonians, her red hair and pale skin made her a hit amongst the boys, for them she was an exotic beauty. She wasn't really interested though and didn't really realize they were interested in her.

So two weeks after the ghosts had been dealt with, Oz and Buffy were going strong and then Xander found himself in exile.

For a few months things were pretty boring for Xander at the SGC. He did his work, Delta and Sam tutoring him. He kept in touch with the gang back home, who visited frequently. Buffy joining Oz on his visits with Jordy. Something that troubled him as Buffy looked worse and worse with each visit. She was getting thinner and thinner as she wouldn't eat. Joyce and Oz were really worried.

Then certain things happened.

Apophis turned up. Xander had flat out said they wouldn't negotiate. He removed the symbiote.

"Xander," Jack sighed, "We wanted to interrogate him first."

Xander just raised an eyebrow, then looked at the host who was thanking him profusely in a language only he and Daniel could make out.

"Sure Jack." He said holding up the writhing worm. "You wanna play host whilst we ask it some questions?"

Jack was quick to shut up after that.

Then some nut named Sokar kept bombarding the gate and demanding Apophis as his property.

Xander managed to talk to the image Sokar projected through the iris. It was relatively short, Jack was grinning like a loon.

"Your Sokar?" Xander asked.

"I am your god. You will return my property." Sokar said dismissing Xander.

"You don't know who I am?" Xander mused. "Allow me to introduce myself. Lord Xander, killer of the Goa'uld."

This seemed to bring Sokar up short. It was hard to tell, his face being obscured.

"I'll make a deal with you." Xander said casually. "You shut down the gate, I'll have the Taur'i send through the body of the snake. You can't have the host as I've already removed the worm." Xander said.

"And if I refuse?"

"You don't _really_ need me to threaten you, do you? I'm sure your smart enough to figure out what happens if you piss me off." Xander said.

"Send the Goa'uld husk to the planet you retrieved it from." Sokar said.

Then the gate shut down, and the dead worm was prepped.

"What exactly would you have done if he hadn't stopped?" Jack asked.

Xander grinned sheepishly. "Nothing. I can't go to a place where I don't know or to someone I don't know."

"You bluffed?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Pretty much. Worst came to worst we would have ejected the gate and found a new one." Xander said.

"Why not just order the Goa'uld to leave the host? You don't need to be with him to do that." Daniel asked.

"Yeah, but there was a chance that the Jaffa on the other side wouldn't turn the weapon off, we'd be stuck, plus we don't know if it works over radio."

Apophis' former host did not survive. It had been around for hundreds of years. Years that quickly caught up to it.

Daniel and Xander were able to see that it had proper funeral rites in Egypt. Sha're too, gave her forgiveness for the acts the Goa'uld had used him for. An act that allowed the host some peace.

* * *

And so life went on, SG1 getting into more trouble. Xander began to wonder if they were cursed, none of the other SG teams got into that much trouble.

General Hammond explained it had more to do with the fact that SG1 dealt with the majority first contact and dangerous missions.

Xander snuck into the mess one day and put up a board that read 'SG Rescue Board.'

All the teams were listed in a horizontal chart like a horserace.

No one had a number like SG1.

Angelus was enraged.

It was bad enough that he had been humiliated by that blonde bimbo when she revealed vampires were impotent, but then he had been so easily dispatched by that armoured cretin and his little ghost.

But now he was returned from a short stint in Hell and the whole experience was driving him literally insane. Drusilla was saner than he was. Unfortunately he was still smarter than the rest of the Scourge of Europe combined.

The trouble in Sunnydale was also fairly rough. Angelus was hiding and simply orchestrating from behind the scenes. It seemed he didn't know Xander was not in town.

This may of course be because Church's body had a holographic ability allowing him to impersonate anyone. Church pretty much went patrolling with Buffy and Oz every night as Xander.

SG1 got into more trouble when they met an old man named Ma'chello. Poor Daniel had his body stolen. Xander tried to teleport to Daniel but kept winding up in the infirmary. This helped prove that Daniel had been the victim of a body swap.

They eventually called Oz in and the pair of them went out and sniffed their way to Daniel's wayward body.

Seeing Teal'c and Jack switch bodies was hilarious.

Everyone was just glad that Sam and Janet hadn't touched it.

No one wanted to experience the other side of the fence.

SG1 again needed Xander's help when they nearly wiped out an alien species. Xander was able to communicate with the albino people, but tempers got pretty thin.

Eventually they were able to figure out that they had damaged some vegetation that emitted a sound, but it took a lot of frayed nerves.

Bad news awaited Xander and SG1 on their return to the SGC.

Buffy had had a nervous breakdown.

The stress of Angelus being out there after the nightmare he had caused last time had finally gotten to her. Oz had grabbed her and Joyce and had them transported to the SGC.

Janet had sedated her and arranged for a therapist to see her. Joyce and Oz were clearly worried.

"She didn't come down to dinner this evening. I went upstairs and she was hiding in her closet. She nearly killed me when she attacked with her stake." Joyce said in tears.

Oz pulled the devastated mother into a hug and continued the story.

"Joyce called me and I found Buffy just as she described her. She went for me too, but I was able to get through to her. I called up and had us transported here."

Xander sighed. This was not good.

"What did Janet say?" He asked.

"Keep her here for a maximum of a week. Then start easing her back into life in Sunnydale, starting with days only." Oz said.

"Wants her back in the saddle?" Xander asked.

Oz just nodded.

"How are things back home?" Xander asked.

"Same, nothing big has happened. I think that's the problem. Waiting for the big thing to happen."

"Can you handle it back there on your own?"

"Well, there are the other Scoobies and the two SG teams." Oz corrected. "Any chance of some Jaffa?"

"I'll have to clear it with George, might be useful if I had a word with the President too. There are a thousand Jaffa who would jump at the chance." Xander said considering the different avenues. "Go take care of Buffy. I'll go see George now."

Xander soon found himself meeting with the President and George. The President seemed to have a fondness for the SGC and took every opportunity possible to drop in.

The teleporter made things even more secure.

Both George and the President thought it was a good idea. To provide more coverage, the gate ship was moved into a high orbit over Sunnydale to provide sensor readings.

Buffy slowly came back to herself over the following week. She apologized profusely for her breakdown. Which everyone told her was unnecessary.

Buffy returned to school by the second week, but she was back at the SGC by end of last bell.

Xander had her outfitted with a watch similar to his and Oz's. They assigned Beta as her AI as there was no telling when she would need a translator to tell her what various things mean, or creatures are saying.

Buffy found the AI with a 5 year olds mentality, cute and adorable.

Xander just rolled his eyes. Oz took the opportunity to nab O'Mally. Church and Xander thought he was nuts. By the end of the week Buffy was thinking the same thing.

Xander had to give O'Mally new orders making Oz his direct commander.

Oz was finally able to tell the maniacal nut to shut up.

Buffy was thrilled.

With Buffy no longer patrolling, Xander enlisted Jack and Teal'c to arrange training and sparring sessions with the base personnel and the Jaffa on board the gate ship. By the end of the first day, Buffy learnt that a Slayer's speed and strength meant nothing to a seasoned warrior.

By the end of the week, they had taught her how to take down even the most seasoned warrior.

With the help of the Scooby Gang, Buffy spent more and more time after school at the library. She and Oz would go back to her house and check things out.

It probably didn't hurt that there were a bunch of men with guns sleeping in the basement.

Joyce stayed at the SGC, she spent her days with Gaia, Sha're and the kids. Cassie came after school and had fun too.

Joyce, Gaia and Sha're talked about Sha're's plans and moving out of the SGC. Everyone was really nice. But an underground military base was no place to raise children.

Daniel, being slightly absent minded, was rather embarrassed that he hadn't thought about it himself.

Xander and SG1 spent the weekend accompanying Joyce, Gaia and Sha're on a house hunting trip.

Jack spent the day musing about the eclectic bunch.

"We've got a goddess, two aliens, four humans and a…" Jack looked at Xander questioningly.

"Whatever?" Xander shrugged with a grin.

"What about the kids?" Joyce asked.

"Oh yeah. Ok, a goddess, three aliens, five humans and a…"

"Whatever?"

Gaia spent her time muttering about not letting Xander watch the Muppet movies anymore.

In both the Springs and Sunnydale. The women were fast friends.


	16. Chapter 16

It didn't take long for Xander to hustle the Sunnydale crew through Janet's infirmary. Church was gloating happily until Xander ordered him to Sam's lab for an examination and back to Janet's for his more biological side… he was very lifelike after all.

What really confused Janet and Sam was that there were no uncommon attributes in the other Scoobs. They appeared completely normal. Even Gaia, this really ate at the two scientists so they called in Gaia to explain.

"It's because we are… magical, I suppose you could say. To be accurate, Xander, Oz and myself are considered more blessed than magical, but Buffy, Giles and Jenny are touched by magic. Especially Buffy."

"But why can't we detect anything?" Sam asked frustratedly.

Gaia laughed, but not nastily. "Sam, magic, at the moment, is beyond your technology and science. It's still beyond the Asgard, and the chances are that you will never be able to detect my powers." She shrugged. "My advice is treat us all scientifically as humans, that's how we register to your technology. You'll likely burn yourselves out trying to detect it. Think of it like the Tower of Babel. They tried to reach Heaven by building a tall building, they were wrong to try. They took the wrong route, science and technology are not the route you need to take to understand us."

It took a lot of sulking and alcohol for the two women to finally give up their search, but they tended to believe the advice Gaia gave. They decided to only consider it as a philosophical concept.

They had to be excused from work the next day due to major hangovers. Fortunately Gaia gave them a sick note.

Buffy returned to the SGC from school one Friday and as usual went to find some of the gang. Xander didn't go offworld unless called. He spent the days studying with Delta.

No one was in their usual hangouts. This was bad as it usually meant that some one got hurt and they were in the infirmary.

The infirmary was pretty crowded. The focus of the attention appeared to be a young boy.

"Hey Buffy." Xander greeted. "This is Charlie. Charlie, meet my best bud and surrogate sister, Buffy." Xander said. "Oh, and Mother is somewhere in the room."

Buffy wasn't feeling well. She felt there was something bad in the room.

"Xan, Jack, can I see you outside for a minute?" She asked queasily.

Jack and Xander just looked at each other and followed the blonde out the door.

"For the past week or so I kept sensing something demonic, but not quite evil. Like… Angel. I thought I was paranoid what with my history. But, I can really feel it in that room. Plus you say Mother is in there." Buffy said wringing her hands nervously. She really didn't want to wind up with another straight-jacket.

"Well, new rule for me. Check all rooms for demons." Xander muttered. "I'll turn on the ol' demon sight and see what I can see." Xander said.

Buffy and Jack nodded, following Xander back inside.

Xander stopped suddenly just inside the door.

Buffy ran into Xander.

Jack ran into Buffy.

"Xander, I really wasn't looking to become a sandwich today." Buffy said, her voice muffled in Xander's shirt.

"Sorry." He said quickly moving into the room. "I can see Mother. She's clearly insectoid but she's grey like the Tok'ra." Xander said.

Xander moved over to the area he had indicated Mother was and started talking to air.

Eventually Jack got impatient. "Xander, care to translate for us?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I was just asking her about her race and all that." Xander said.

"We know, what did she say?" Daniel asked eagerly.

"Later Daniel." Jack said.

"So why is Charlie here?" Buffy asked. "Mum and Sha're adding to their day-care centre?" She asked indicating the two women sitting on the bed either side of Charlie.

This caused both women to duck their heads somewhat guiltily, some thing that was left for now but did not go unnoticed.

"Charlie was created by Mother to act as an emissary between her and us." Xander said interpreting what Mother told him. "He is a clone. But he is dying as time ran too short and they had to speed things up."

"Yeah, Xander, you have any idea who to ask for help?" Jack asked. Kids were his passion. The reason he fought the bad guys. So they could go and play and enjoy life.

"Asgard, Nox otherwise we can ask Gaia." Xander shrugged.

"Who'd she clone?" Buffy seemed to ask out of the blue.

"What?" Sam asked.

"I thought if you cloned someone you still needed DNA from someone?" She clarified.

"She's right sir. Some one had to provide the DNA." Sam confirmed.

Everyone just looked at Xander.

"What?"

"Either we run Charlie's DNA through a database and _possibly_ come up with a match in a week or so, or you can ask Mother now." Jack said rolling his eyes.

"Oh, right." Xander said who turned to face Mother and shrugged. "Well?" He asked.

After a few moments Xander's face fell. This information could cause a lot of pain. And he was the poor guy who had to play messenger.

"Jack, Sam, he's yours." He said quietly and without preamble.

Jack and Sam were clearly in shock.

Daniel helped Sam to a chair.

Jack just collapsed to the floor in a daze.

Charlie had a look of fear on his face, but it was soon replaced by sadness as Joyce explained their reactions with Sha're.

Xander lifted Jack onto a bed and let him sit there.

"Teal'c, can you go and inform the General of what we learnt here?" Xander asked.

Teal'c left with a nod and Xander called in Gaia.

"Wow, lot of sadness and stress in this room." Gaia remarked worriedly.

"Gaia, this is Mother." Xander said indicating the invisible Reetou. "She cloned Charlie to communicate with humans. Two problems. One, she used Jack and Sam's DNA to create him and two, he's dying 'cos he was made too quickly." Xander said cutting to the chase. "What can we do to help Charlie?"

"Take him to the Asgard. They are masters in the field of cloning. They can help him and will probably jump at the chance." Gaia said.

"Ok, I'll take him once we've dealt with this Reetou threat." Xander said.

"No Xand, take him now." Buffy said. "Why risk it? We can handle the Reetou."

"The Tok'ra have weapons they said they can send us that can detect the Reetou." Daniel offered.

"That still leaves you needing men to fight." Xander said.

It was an acknowledged fact that Xander could take out an army with his armour.

"What about some more Jaffa?" Buffy asked.

"What?" Xander asked.

"Jaffa, your always saying they are getting jittery without battles to fight. Why not send some here and to the ship?" She asked.

"I _always_ forget about the Jaffa." Xander moaned. "Alright, you go and tell George. I'll take Charlie to see Thor and try and get back as soon as possible."

As Buffy ran off Xander eased Jack up off the bed and Daniel did the same for Sam.

They brought them over to Charlie.

"Charlie, I'm afraid Jack and Sam are having a hard time coping with this news. But don't take that as a bad thing. We humans have fragile minds." Xander told him.

"As you know, you are dying." Gaia continued. "But Xander has some friends that can fix you up. So he's gonna take you off for a little while to meet them and get fixed up."

Charlie thought about this. "Mother says I am to trust Xander and Jack. I am to do as they say."

"Ok, then let's go kiddo." Xander said pawning a still dazed Jack on to Gaia.

He grabbed Charlie's hand and they vanished.

Charlie found himself standing in front of the Stargate. Just not the Earth Stargate. There were a few small blueish grey aliens wandering around.

"I didn't get to say goodbye!" Charlie protested.

"Pfft." Xander waved a hand dismissively. "We won't be gone long enough for goodbye. This is like going to bed! You don't say goodbye when you go to bed do you?"

"Mother says that human parents put their children to bed with stories…" He paused, searching for the right term. "Fairytales!" he said triumphantly.

Xander paused. Could Charlie be right? Probably not a good thing to use his parents as an example.

"Erm, she could be right." Xander mused. "When we get back you can ask Jack. You know he used to be a dad so he would know."

Their mini-discussion was interrupted by the arrival of Thor in a blinding flash of light.

"Greetings Xander." The small alien said. "It is good to see you."

"Likewise Thor. But I'm afraid I have not come with all good news." Xander said gravely. "This is Charlie. A child created by the Reetou from Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter, another member of the Earth Stargate Program. He was created as an emissary as humans can't see or speak to the Reetou, Charlie was made special. He was also made too fast and his body is shutting down. Gaia said you were clone experts and could help?"

"We can indeed. We know much of the human genome and physiology. I will take you to a medical facility." Thor said causing them to vanish in another flash of light.

Charlie and Xander suddenly found themselves in a room lined with oval shaped pods. The top half was transparent and they were all empty.

"Illness not a big problem for you guys?" Xander asked.

"No, we use these for accidents that require outside aid. Please wait here for a moment." Thor said as he wandered off to talk to another Asgard stationed in the room.

"Well, what do ya know." Xander muttered to Charlie. "All you have to do is go to sleep and your cured!"

"Is that not usually what happens?" Charlie asked.

"Not on Earth. It can take years for something like your problem to be fixed." Xander said. "Luckily for you, Jack knows me, I know Gaia and Gaia had the idea to ask these guys." He said with a grin.

"Very… lucky." Charlie agreed, testing the word out.

"Yep."

Thor returned and led Charlie to one of the pods.

"Simply enter the pod and when you are healed it will release you. I will alert Xander when you are due to be released and he can be present when you awake." Thor said.

Before Charlie could comment and spend too long asking questions, Xander picked him up and plopped him down in the pod.

"Excellent, sooner you get to sleeping, sooner you get better. Sooner you get better, sooner we can get you back to Jack and Sam." Xander said helping Charlie lay down. "Not every kid gets two moms you know."

"Close your eyes Charlie and Xander will be here when you awake." Thor said as the lid closed.

A second after the lid had sealed, Charlie's eyes closed and he fell into a deep sleep.

"Thanks for this Thor. I think losing Charlie could have destroyed Jack. He already lost one son." Xander said seriously.

"It is a pleasure to help children. We Asgard take great honour in it as we have lost our ability to reproduce naturally. Soon we will be extinct as our own cloning techniques have been stretched as far as they can and our cloned bodies are failing." Thor said wistfully.

"How come?" Xander asked in confusion.

"We lost the original samples of our bodies many millennia ago. We are currently cloning our clones. Each new clone inherits and magnifies the flaws of the original."

"So you need either new DNA to work with or new techniques?" Xander asked.

"Techniques, yes. But how would fresh DNA help?"

"I assume that you can transfer your consciousness or essence to the new bodies?"

"Correct."

"Then you could either use sample DNA to create new bodies, possibly ones to match your originals or you could use the fresh DNA to patch up the flaws in the clones."

"Intriguing. We had considered something along those lines, but could not develop the technologies to implement it." Thor admitted.

"Well, that's what friends and allies are for." Xander said grinning. "Earth has limited cloning experience I think. But I don't know about the Nox or the Tok'ra. I could ask them? Or you could."

"It might be time for me to visit Earth again." Thor mused. "It has been many years since I have seen humans, and to see what they have become would be… interesting."

"Interesting. Yeah, lets go with that." Xander said cynically.

"I do have complete files relating to UNSC cloning methods that can be downloaded with your authorization Xander." Delta offered as appeared, slightly startling the Asgard commander.

"Thor, this Delta. He's an Artificial Intelligence Unit." Xander said.

"Impressive. You are sentient?" Thor asked the glowing entity.

"By various definitions." Delta allowed.

"He's sentient enough to me, that I try not to use him as a tool too much." Xander said.

"Despite that being my function." Delta objected.

"Which is also the reason I use him as much as I can." Xander shrugged in contradiction.

"What are the cloning techniques you mentioned?" Thor asked.

"UNSC Flash Cloning is a battlefield medical procedure used to replace damaged organs. I also have the research files on cloning procedures for the later Spartan programs." Delta said.

"They sound like interesting concepts." Thor allowed.

"Got a standalone terminal? Delta can copy the data for you." Xander offered.

Thor led them to a nearby terminal. After entering a few commands he indicated that Delta should proceed.

Whilst Delta was copying away Xander broached the subject of communication.

"Do you have a way for us to communicate? Otherwise I'll have to keep jumping back and forth." Xander said.

"We do have multiple methods of transportation and communication. I could supply you with a device." Thor mused.

"Any chance you can build it into this?" Xander asked holding out his watch. "After trying to lug around a Goa'uld communication sphere Delta and the other AI's made a version that embedded it in this."

After a quick examination Thor declared that the technology, all though of a different type, was just as advanced as their own.

A few minor modifications later and the watch was capable of communicating with Thor… and Delta was finished.

"I better get back to Earth, need to make sure that there are no problems with the Reetou, I'm the only one who can actually see them." Xander said "Thanks for everything Thor." He said nodding to the sleeping Charlie as he vanished.

Xander realized upon arriving back at the SGC surface base that teleporting to Jack O'Neill during a known crisis was probably not the smartest thing to do.

You're pretty much guaranteed that he'll be in the thick of whatever crisis abounds.

He probably started it.

This was proven when Xander found himself staring down the barrel of an unusual weapon. But a weapon nonetheless.

"Bad time?" Xander asked sheepishly.

Jack lowered his weapon and indicated the infirmary they were crouched outside with a squad of Jaffa.

"Had a team of Reetou get through. They managed to beam down there are two left. We think they're in here." Jack whispered.

"I assume storming the room was the plan?" Xander whispered back.

"Not anymore, you can slip in and find them and take them out." Jack said. "These are TER's from the Tok'ra. They only reveal line of sight."

"Ok, wait here." Xander said as he turned into a fly and… buzzed off.

Daniel shuddered, causing Jack to look at him weirdly.

"I hate bugs." He explained.

"What about all those bugs on archaeological digs?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"Where do you think I learnt to hate them?" Daniel pointed out.

There was a sudden thwack from inside the infirmary. And then a wet sloshy thud.

"All clear!" Xander called out.

Jack and Daniel entered the room, leaving the Jaffa stationed outside.

Jack was scanning the room and happened across the now headless body of the terrorist Reetou.

"I know Mother is our ally, but man these things are ugly!" Jack grimaced.

"Where is Mother?" Xander asked.

"We asked her to go back home until we can be sure we are safe from Reetou invasion. Didn't want to accidentally take her out." Jack explained.

"Smart."

There was the sound of groaning outside as the Jaffa struggled not to keel over.

"Damn, there's one more left!" Jack said as he ran outside. He was kicking himself for not leaving the TER with the Jaffa.

Xander and Daniel followed. His demon vision still active he could see the Jaffa symbiotes highly agitated in their pouches. The Jaffa were admirable in their attempts to find a target and not succumb to the pain.

But they just could not see it.

Xander could.

He could see the Reetou raise it's weapon. He could see the initial bolt.

He didn't focus on anything but the Jaffa in the line of fire. That bolt would rip through it's armour, of that Xander had no doubt.

He dived at the Jaffa, spinning him away.

But gravity was not fast enough, even combined with his momentum. His sword clattered to the ground as the bolt hit him square in the back.

Xander decided now was a good time for a nap.

"If you wanted to visit you only had to ask." A smug female voice said.

Xander recognized that voice.

His eyes snapped open and he found the face of God staring down at him with a bemused smile.

He was on his knees in seconds.

"Oh Xander. There is a time and place for everything. Times like this, when it is just the two of us, you don't need to fall back on displays like this." She said raising him to his feet.

He refused to meet her eyes though.

"Xander! I don't bite!" She said in exasperation.

"Sorry, just a little hard. You _are_ God after all." He shrugged sheepishly.

"Really? I never would have guessed." She said mockingly. "Now then, there is a very anxious goddess, who is worried about you."

The next thing Xander knew he was engulfed in a tight hug by the goddess of the universe.

"You stupid man!" She said hugging him tighter. "What were you thinking?"

"That the Jaffa would die?" Xander offered.

"Yes, and you nearly took his place." She scolded.

"Oh, so I'm not dead?" He asked confused.

"No, you'll be headed back down soon enough. You just had a near death experience." God said. "Meaning you died, came to say hi, but Jack managed to revive you with Janet."

"A bit disappointing when you think about it." He shrugged.

"Don't worry, you'll eventually learn to come here on your own." God assured him.

"Preferably without dying!" Gaia said, slapping him round the back of the head.

They were suddenly joined by a fourth person. A tall man in jeans and a t-shirt, he was roughly about Xander's height. And fit enough for the Spartan program.

"Hades? What are you doing up here?" Gaia asked.

"I heard your Champion was here so I decided I'd take the opportunity to meet him." The tall man said.

God snorted, very un-lady like.

Or un-God like.

"Fine, I wanted to meet the man who will eventually take out some of those people who have been besmirching my name!"

"Who?" Xander asked.

"Sokar." Hades spat. "It's a name I am known by. That pathetic excuse for a demon has destroyed it. I look forward to the day you take him out."

"Sorry I couldn't do it that other time." Xander said.

Hades waved his hand dismissively. "You picked the battle you knew you could win. That is one of the reasons Gaia and God chose you." Hades suddenly straightened up. "It is also why I would like to offer my support and respect."

Xander was a little surprised. In some ways it made sense. Who wouldn't bet on the horse that God essentially put in the race.

But Xander was out of his league. He looked to Gaia for instruction.

Gaia just smiled and nodded.

"I gladly accept your offer." Xander said. Best to keep your responses short.

Hades beamed.

"Good. As a token of my support I shall grant you a gift, one that Gaia will appreciate a great deal." He said with a grin. "The angels could not gift you with a heavenly sword. And rightly so. But I have blessed your sword so that as long as you bear it, you may summon your armour upon you in an instant." He informed the young champion. "In other words, next time you intend to play the human shield, summon your armour in the process or make sure you are already wearing it!"

There was a sharp breeze as Gaia rushed to hug Hades.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She gushed.

She then rounded on Xander. "I better not find you without that sword mister!"

"Even in school?"

"The sword can transform into any bladed weapon, Xander. It works the same way as the rest of your abilities." God explained.

"Huh… that explains what Michael meant about using it with my armour." Xander realized. "Jack is gonna go nuts when he finds out." Xander grinned.

"Looks like they are about to wake you up." God mused as she stared at nothing. "Your still basically human Xander. So practice your skills and abilities!" God admonished.

Xander slowly opened his eyes. He felt pretty good for taking a shot in the back. He found a face looking down on him.

"Janet? You lost weight?" He asked with a straight face and a smile in his eyes.

"Unusual. He appears to have suffered head trauma that was not caught by the medical devices." Thor noted with amusement.

"We always thought he was a bit touched in the head." Jack commented.

Gaia chose that moment to appear.

"Thought I'd come and let you know that yes, everything you experienced was real. And that if you ever leave your sword behind I'll personally kick your butt and then get Michael to have a go. And then I'll tell Buffy and Willow." She said.

"Right, sword is now stuck like glue to some part of me." Xander gulped.

"What did you do now?" Sam asked smirking.

"Met with God again. And Hades." Xander shrugged. "He's pretty pissed at Sokar dirtying one of his names. Gonna waste him next chance I get."

"As long as you don't take too big a risk. The last thing he wants is others at risk." Gaia admonished.

"Nah, its something I'm gonna ask Jacob and Selmak or some of the other Tok'ra to help me experiment with." Xander explained climbing out of the pod. "I should have used my ability to have Sokar tell me everything and shut down the weapon. I could have claimed all his holdings and eliminated him in one shot." Xander said in frustration.

"Hindsight is twenty-twenty, and we were in an emergency." Jack countered.

Xander nodded in resignation, still not liking the fact that he threw away a perfect opportunity.

"So why are we three here?" Xander asked, noting that the rest of SG1 was absent.

"Xander it's been a week." Sam said. "Thor called to tell us that Charlie was about to wake up. He offered to pick the three of us up so he could also fix you up."

"Oh. Thanks." He said to Thor.

"It was no trouble. Charlie would appreciate your being here and it would not do for you to be hampered by an injury whilst you continue your duties." Thor assured him.

"So Charlie's ready?" Jack said clapping his hands together eagerly.

"He is merely sleeping." Thor assured them. "I felt it would be best that he remain asleep until you could be here to greet him personally."

"Thank you Thor." Sam said as the Asgard led them to Charlie's pod.

The five were silent as the pod opened.

Xander was, to be honest, bursting with questions. He'd been out a week.

At least Charlie was in the same boat. They could bug the SGC and Scoobies for stories.

Charlie took in a deep breath. And yawned.

"Feels real good waking up in there, don't it." Xander smirked knowingly.

"Hi Xander." Charlie said, sleepily rubbing his eyes. "Xander!" He suddenly squealed in excitement. "You came!"

"Of course, but Jack and Sam had to get Thor to come get me." Xander explained. "Had a bit of an accident after I left you. I've been asleep since then."

Charlie didn't seem to buy this and looked to Sam and Gaia for more details.

"He got shot in the back by a Reetou weapon." Gaia said sighing in exasperation.

"So what's the big news back home?" Xander asked, trying desperately to deflect the attention.

"Buffy went home." Sam said happily. "She said she wanted to try and face Angelus."

"Joyce is still at the base." Jack added. "She claims she doesn't want to be a source of vulnerability. We _all_ know she doesn't want to give up the day care centre she and Sha're are planning."

"Sounds about right." Xander chuckled. "Remind me to set them up with an account to start off their day care centre. There are probably a few Jaffa who are fathers and might not mind playing bodyguard. After all, SG staff are most at risk from blackmailers and the like." Xander said seriously.

"That's pretty much it." Sam said. "Other than Jaf're."

"Who?"

"The Jaffa you saved." Gaia explained. "He was most distressed that his Lord might die because of him." She said glaring at him.

"I'll be sure to see him and let him know that two gods and the Almighty have told me off for that one and one of them made sure I won't have an excuse anymore." Xander said with a grin. "Hades offered his official support and blessed my sword so that I can use it put my armour on instantly."

"That is so cool." Jack said dreamily.

Sam and Gaia just stared at Jack with a raised eyebrow.

"That's not all, apparently it can change into any bladed weapon. And Michael said it would work with my armour." Xander said pointedly.

Jack appeared confused for a moment as he tried to work out the significance.

Then it him.

"No!"

Xander just nodded with a grin.

"What's the big deal?" Sam asked.

"Got my sword?" He asked.

Gaia produced the sword from nowhere with a smirk.

Xander accepted the sword and focused on his armour.

Charlie and Thor were a little stunned at the sudden appearance of a 7ft armoured warrior.

"Don't worry guys, it's still me under here." He assured them as they started backing off.

Xander raised the sword slightly.

"And for the final touch…"

The plain and unadorned sword that had belonged to Joshua suddenly flashed in a white light and Xander was holding a different weapon.

"A plasma sword." Jack said in awe.

"It's an oversized light sabre." Sam commented, she was curious as to how it worked and was about to ask to examine it. But she realized that as it was a holy object gifted from Heaven's angels, it probably wouldn't work, not to mention wouldn't be right.

"Bite your tongue!" Jack said in horror. "A light sabre would be useless in his hands as a Spartan. He'd snap it in half! This was designed to be used by the extremely strong."

Sam and Gaia just giggled at Jack's passionate speech.

Charlie and Thor just looked confused.

Banishing the armour and returning the sword to normal, Xander looked at the sword carefully.

The next Jack and Sam knew, Xander was holding a fully functioning light sabre.

They stared at him in shock.

"What? God said any bladed weapon, technically this counts." He shrugged.

"Why would the Host of Heaven make the blade so changeable?" Sam wondered.

"Remember Michael said that there were others who were accepted by the Host?" Gaia asked.

Sam nodded.

"Not all of them were in biblical times. Some of them would be more used to a scimitar, rapier or even katana. They needed a weapon they could use. Xander is the only one who needs to fully use its abilities as he lives in a time where people aren't expected or permitted to carry swords, and because his enemies are impervious to the average sword."

Sam nodded in understanding.

Having been unable to fully cope with magic and the supernatural, not to mention God and the angels, Sam took a different approach.

She labelled these things as Xander specific… 'To be believed, but not examined.'

It was the only way she could cope, her scientific mind would not allow her to accept something without understanding it. So she denied herself the opportunity to examine it.


	17. Chapter 17

Willy was petrified.

Willy was sure he was going to die.

Willy needed a clean pair of pants.

He was currently tied to a chair in an abandoned warehouse.

Arrayed around him were The Slayer, The Watcher, The Wolf and about thirty large men with guns and weapons he did not want to have tested on him.

They hadn't even touched him.

Other than to tie him up.

He took one look at the very serious faces and started blabbing.

If anyone asks he was tortured.

Now he was sobbing his eyes out as his captors looked on in disgust.

"As far as I can tell that's everything." Oz said covering his mouth and nose. Sometimes enhanced senses weren't all they were cracked up to be.

"God I hope so." Buffy exclaimed.

Giles walked up to Willy and said calmly.

"You are despicable. You like demons so much, especially those that prey on humans. You are hereby exiled to the heart of Africa. If you attempt to leave or are seen by civilized people, you will be killed. It will not be pleasant."

The next Willy knew he was still in his chair in the middle of the African bush.

Surrounded by his own… well, you know.

"That was gross." Buffy said. "And I've fought ugly demons with acid and slime."

"Yes. But at least we know what we need to." Giles said replacing his glasses.

"I assume this won't be an early night then?" Buffy groaned.

"Angel has Acathla and is currently trying to revive it. He succeeds and we will be sucked into hell." Giles said.

"Right, so we dust his ass tonight."

"The gate ship is currently taking scans of the mansion. It seems there are a lot of vamps there. I recommend we either flatten the place with strategic strike, or we find another way of taking out the bad guys without us having to enter the place." Colonel Makepeace suggested.

"Oh! Show them the device!" O'Mally's maniacal demands echoed from Oz's watch as he appeared before them.

Oz pulled out a silver orb, much like the Jaffa stun grenades.

"I call it the 'Sun Bomb'." O'Mally said proudly.

"It mimics sunlight?" Giles asked.

"Only if you want to wait five minutes whilst vampires slowly catch on fire." O'Mally snarked. "No, this will imitate everything about the sun except the heat and radiation. It will be like they woke up on the surface of the sun."

"Sounds cool." Buffy shrugged.

"Any chance it would work to disable hostage takers?" Makepeace asked.

"Only if you don't mind the hostage's eyeballs melting." O'Mally remarked.

"Ok, we can use this as a clean up device to clear most of the mansion before we sweep it." He offered.

"I want to be sure Angelus is done and dusted." Buffy said. "I want Xander to be able to come home."

"I'll go in first." Church said as he appeared next Buffy. "I'll see if I can take over Angelus and get him outside."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll let you guys sort out the sweep afterwards." Buffy said.

Church slipped in, hiding in the walls.

He headed towards the sound of Angelus ranting away.

There was a big ugly statue at the end of a large hall. Angelus had just cut his hand and headed for the statue.

Church wasn't an expert, but generally speaking, blood plus evil statue equals bad.

Church charged Angelus, hoping he hadn't had an upgrade that would deflect him.

Nope. Same old stupid vamp.

Church took one look at the minions around him in his new Angelus body, and charged for the front door.

The minions just looked on in confusion.

Was this part of the ritual.

Church burst out of the mansion in front of Buffy, Oz and Giles.

"SOMEBODY KILL ME!" He screamed.

Church dived out of Angelus' body.

Angelus looked fearfully at Buffy before him with a crossbow.

She raised it and shot the arrow.

Angelus moved quickly to snatch the bolt from the air.

He missed.

He wasn't dust.

Angelus looked down.

The bolt was currently lodged somewhere that most men fear.

Angelus screamed.

Buffy smiled and fired a bolt into his heart.

Angelus turned to dust.

Oz, Giles and Church were wincing and trying not to cross their legs.

"Hon, you can assure your mother that we won't be sleeping together for a fairly reasonable amount of time." Oz said.

"I'm sure I can convince you otherwise." She said sweetly.

"And who will be convincing your mother?" Giles asked.

"Pfft, if I'm old enough to save the world, I'm old enough to decide when I want to sleep with my boyfriend." She said dismissively.

"Warn me before you have that conversation. I'll take up Dr Jackson's offer to visit the ruins on Abydos." Giles said wearily.

"Just call the guys and tell them they can clear out the mansion." Buffy said. "I'm going to call Xander."

Buffy wandered a short way off and Beta informed her that Xander was currently unreachable.

"Strange, he said these watches could contact him in another galaxy." She mused. "Ok, get me George, he might know what's going on."

A few moments later and a holographic image of General George Hammond was hovering next to her.

"Buffy, did your mission go well?" He asked.

"Yep, Angelus is dust, the guys are just clearing out the nest." She said happily.

"Excellent. Xander has been feeling a little homesick. I think he needs to spend some time back in Sunnydale and not traipsing around the galaxy." George said.

"Where is Xander I can't reach him."

"He's currently unavailable at the moment, he should be back soon though." George assured her.

"Where could he be though that the communicator watches can't reach him?" She wondered.

"1969." Was George's dry response.

This was not Xander's first time in space.

He was frequently on board either the SGC Gate Ship or one of his own ships.

This was Xander's first time in space without a space ship.

Or a space suit.

Fortunately his instincts kicked in as the vacuum surrounded him and his armour appeared around him.

Once again able to breathe Xander quickly reached out and grabbed the rest of SG1 as they floated around him.

He teleported to the one person he could think of.

George Hammond.

George had the day free today.

He wasn't due back at the base till Monday.

Plenty of time to spend with his one year old daughter.

It was currently feeding time. But _his_ daughter was a good girl. Also a greedy girl as she eagerly gobbled up her mush.

One thing that was definitely not on the agenda for daddy-daughter day was five individuals to appear on his kitchen floor.

Four of these individuals were in fatigues and shivering.

The fifth was a heavily armoured figure who towered above them all.

The figure withdrew a strange device and planted it on the floor. Soon there was a very nice soothing green mist permeating the kitchen.

The four individuals seemed to rapidly improve.

George just watched.

Fascinated.

"George?" Xander asked. This man could be George. Some thirty years ago. Besides, that's who he had aimed for.

"Yes?" George answered in a daze.

"You're George Hammond?" Xander asked.

"Yes." He repeated more assuredly now.

"Crap." Xander said.

George, who had retrieved his giggling daughter, was watching the unusual group warily.

Xander noticed this.

"Don't worry George, we're just some accidental travellers who got lost. We're no threat and you and your daughter are quite safe." Xander assured him.

George still kept his distance. Much to his daughter's annoyance who was very curious about there visitors in strange costumes.

"What the hell was that!" Jack growled.

"Ex nay on the swearing… ay." Xander muttered.

"What?" Jack asked, then he noticed the father and daughter. "Oh, hi." Jack said sheepishly.

"Jack this is George Hammond, George meet Jack." The baby gurgled angrily. "Oh and Andrea."

"Ok, how do you know me and my daughter." George asked getting really worried.

"Xander, lose the suit." Jack said.

George was astonished when the armoured man was replaced by a six foot something kid.

"Bottom line, we're from the future. You know us. Most of us are under your command." Xander said.

"Should we be telling him this stuff?" Jack muttered out the side of his mouth.

"He saw me in my armour. I don't really think it can get much worse."

The rest of SG1 was now up and Sam was studying a yellow piece of paper.

"Sir, I think the General gave us a solution." She said handing the paper to Xander. "He told me to open it when we went through the gate."

The paper was folded and said simply 'Xander Harris'.

Xander opened it up and read it out loud.

"_Dear Xander,_

_Unfortunately I am guessing that you will find yourselves back on earth in 1969 when you exit the gate._

_I didn't want to disrupt things so I apologise for you winding up in space without a suit. If memory serves you fixed things._

_Give my younger self this letter as proof of your tale._

_If Gaia can't help you, then I have included two dates of solar flares that might provide you a way back. Captain Carter can explain it in more detail._

_Previously you explained you were from the future, omitting many details and then you vanished._

_That is the extent of my knowledge._

_Good luck,_

_George Hammond."_

Xander handed the note to young George everyone having heard it.

"Looks like my signature." George admitted.

"We aren't supposed to travel through time, this was an accident. You won't meet us for about 30 odd years, some of us haven't even been born yet." Xander said. "Don't report this as no one will believe you and your family might be at risk from people who do. We'll just vanish and you can pretend it never happened until the mission after you write this note."

George realized what he was saying. He knew it wasn't a threat from him. He was just warning him of threats from others.

George nodded his head in acceptance.

"Ok, we'll be going now, doing that vanishing thing." Xander said.

SG1 all grabbed a piece of Xander and vanished from George Hammond's kitchen.

"Xander, where are we?" Daniel asked.

"Nox homeworld." He shrugged. "I figure they are advanced enough to basically ignore us or help us."

"Makes sense to me." Jack agreed. "So, Gaia?"

"Right." Xander said. "Gaia?"

"What on Earth are you doing here?" She asked.

"Actually this isn't Earth." Jack smirked.

"Don't make me hurt you Jack." Gaia glared at him.

"We got sent back in time some how when we went through the Stargate." Xander said. "I guess it makes sense as to why George wanted me to come though."

"Any chance you can get us home? Or know how?" Jack asked with a puppy dog plea.

"Oh grow up Jack." Gaia huffed. "I can't interfere, and Xander isn't due to have his time travel abilities activated for at least a year, probably more."

"Does anyone else find it odd that she talks about Xander having time travel abilities activated so casually?" Daniel asked.

"I do." Teal'c admitted.

"Same here." Sam agreed.

"Nah, run of the mill stuff." Jack grinned.

"If you're finished I might have a solution!" Gaia groused as she stood there, arms folded, tapping her foot impatiently.

SG1 mumbled a few sorrys and Gaia continued.

"The Asgard. They were close to the Ancients and might have shared time travel tech with each other." Gaia instructed. "If nothing else they can try and help you."

"Thanks Gaia." Xander said. "How come you know us back now?" He asked.

"Xander, I'm a god. I don't exactly follow the same timelines as you do. But at the same time, only God is all-knowing." She said. "See you in thirty years or so." She smiled as she vanished.

SG1 just looked at each other before automatically latching on to Xander… and vanishing.

Thor was enjoying a nice sleep. It had been a long day. Despite their advances, the Asgard were still victim to one of the universes most soul destroying aspects.

Bureaucracy.

The last thing he needed was to be woken up by the intruder alert to his home.

Rising from his sleep pod he was startled to see four humans and a Jaffa.

"Hey Thor." The youngest greeted. "Sorry to drop in like this, but we're from about 30 odd years from now and we were hoping you could help us get back. We kinda got accidentally sent back in time when we went through the Stargate."

Thor just stared at them.

Was it possible the humans had discovered the Stargate? Clearly not at the moment as they would have tried themselves to go back to their time.

"You can prove your story?" Thor asked.

SG1 and Xander just looked at each other helplessly.

"Wait!" Xander exclaimed as an epiphany struck him. "In the future you know me. You modified my watch so we could communicate. If you knew I would meet you and need your help in this time period, would you leave yourself a message?"

"It is possible." Thor said as he accepted the watch carefully.

After a few minutes and an encounter with the Asgard Homeworld Defence Teams, (Little guys with big guns… Jack tried his best not to laugh.) Thor declared he had found a message and proof of their time period.

Xander explained Gaia's idea, without mentioning her. Thor agreed and acknowledged they had a prototype Ancient Time Ship that they could use to travel to the future and his counterpart would send it back.

Thor, Xander, SG1 and the rather antsy Asgard soldiers (Jack just couldn't look at them), beamed to a storage facility.

Thor set the coordinates and assured them that he would be there to meet them.

SG1 clambered into the ship and settled down.

There was some mechanical sounds.

Some whirring and whining.

A bright flash out the viewports.

And then the ship tumbled on its side spilling the occupants everywhere.

"Ow." Jack moaned. "Everyone ok?"

"Next time I travel with Thor I'm keeping my armour on." Xander groaned.

The rest of SG1 sounded off as the rear hatch to cylinder shaped ship opened to reveal a very sheepish looking Thor.

"I apologise, I forgot to move the original time ship prior to your arrival."

The bruised travellers just glared at the guilty alien.

"You can write the note to yourself explaining the dents and scratches then." Jack griped.


	18. Chapter 18

General Hammond's relief at the return of SG1 and Xander was short lived as Xander started ranting about how he could have at least warned them to dress warmer or for Xander to wear his armour.

George just sat there and took it. Too happy over the fact that they were safe to care about his being chewed out.

Xander eventually realised he was having no effect and gave up.

George gave SG1 two weeks leave to help Xander settle in back home as Buffy had dusted Angelus. He also warned the men to prepare themselves for when Buffy told the story of his demise… it would be… painful.

Sam just raised an eyebrow and smirked.

The team helped Xander pack his gear and the five teleported via Xander Air back to the Library and Giles' office. The designated landing area.

Far too many times Xander and the others had dropped in on each other in… awkward moments.

It was night time and the library was deserted. Which meant that Buffy and the SG teams were out on patrol.

After a few bumps and scrapes they made it to the door of the office and outside.

Only to be blinded as the lights went on and deafened by the shouts of:

"SURPRISE!"

The entire Scooby gang was there plus Sha're, Joyce, George, Janet, Cassie, Nicky, Jordy and Gaia under a banner that proclaimed 'Welcome Home Xander'.

What shocked everyone was a second later and two other people entered the room and one of them cried a pathetic…

"Surprise."

Everyone dropped to their knees as the Voice turned to God and complained. "I can't believe you made me say that."

God just rolled her eyes and started lifting people to their feet.

"Yes, yes, this won't be much of a party if you spend it on your knees." The Metatron grumbled.

Everyone was just staring and trying to figure out what to do.

"Look, she really likes human parties and dancing." The Metatron explained. "Just think of her as one of the gang. A really powerful, all-knowing, slightly mute part of the gang." He admitted.

That didn't seem to move anyone so God grabbed Xander vanished the library table and the room filled with music.

No one seemed to be able to muster too much shock as the sounds of Abba flowed through the room.

God then proceeded to dance enthusiastically to the music of Waterloo dragging Xander along for the ride.

Gaia realised that no one was going to voluntarily join in grabbed Jack and dragged him onto the dance floor.

Sha're handed Nicky off to an eager Joyce and dragged her husband on to the dance floor as Giles offered an arm to a bemused Jenny as Buffy and Willow watched them with shock.

Oz leaned down and spoke quietly in Buffy's ear. "I count one Abydonian, three humans, a Champion, a goddess and the Almighty… care to add a Slayer and a Werewolf?"

Buffy grinned at him and dragged him out there.

Willow was soon dragged out by an eager Jordy, who had no real sense of rhythm… but was an enthusiastic mover.

He was still better than Xander.

As the songs changed, so did the partners. Hades joined them a little later stating that he had decided to come and see mortals before they took up residence in his world.

Fortunately he managed to make it sound like a good thing.

Eventually Sam found herself dancing to a slow song with the Metatron.

"Just so you know, God has some questions for you, so I'm talking for her." He said quietly.

Sam glanced over and saw God talking with Daniel and Giles with Gaia as an interpreter.

"She _can_ multitask." The Voice chuckled.

Sam blushed.

"So, when are you going to make a move on young Jack?" Came the question.

Sam went to answer but the Metatron beat her to it.

"Yes, yes she knows all about chain of command and regulations." He said dismissively. "But why stay in the Air Force? There are other options." He said pointedly nodding in Xander's direction where he was dancing with Cassie.

Sam struggled for an answer. "The Air Force… it's been my whole life. The Stargate program too."

"Samantha, the only thing that needs to change, is who your boss is. And at the end of the day the answer will always ultimately land on the incredibly powerful being over there in a tutu." He said dryly.

Sam chuckled slightly. "I'll think about it."

"Good. She made humans with interlocking parts for a reason you know."

Sam blushed so bright that Janet began to get a little worried.

"What do you think made Sam blush like that?" Joyce asked George, her current dance partner.

"I'm not quite sure. But having seen the Almighty's mischievous side briefly, I probably shouldn't ask." He grinned.

"This is quite a surreal event isn't it." Joyce acknowledged.

George chuckled. "That's one way of putting it." He admitted. "So how goes yours and Sha're's efforts to get Gaia to move on young Xander?"

Joyce tried to look innocent, but realised she was failing.

"How did you know?" She asked.

"My late wife did the same thing with my daughter." He smiled in fond remembrance.

"I'll bet you weren't too happy about that." She smirked.

"Father's prerogative." He said loftily.

"Well, Gaia seems to be hiding behind the excuse that if she tells him about how she feels, she'll have to reveal other things and she wants him to enjoy himself a bit more." She explained.

"Ah, she is a master of the art of procrastination." George said wisely.

Eventually the group called it a night. The group from the SGC ported back and the heavenly four vanished.

Xander made a quick few rounds transporting everyone to their various homes before he, Joyce and Buffy headed off to bed.

It was good to be home.

The first week of the summer was spent catching up. Xander had had his adventures and the Scoobies had had theirs.

Everyone agreed that Xander topped the lot with time travel.

Joyce was spied dancing away to 60's music more often.

The SG teams were recalled back to base. But Xander made a deal with the President to allow him to use his Jaffa to patrol the town at night. They were to be stationed on the Gate ship or SGC in the short term.

For the long term Xander bought the Mansion Angelus had used to convert into a living space for his Jaffa.

When the Scoobies went to check the place Xander asked why the whole thing looked bleached… not to mention the foliage outside.

The gang just looked sheepish and Oz said: "Ask O'Mally."

Cordelia insisted that the place look nothing like a military base. Xander had to agree as it was supposed to covert. So they arranged for an underground base beneath the Mansion as well. The Tok'ra were happy to oblige.

Cordelia then insisted that Xander start buying up all the property he could.

"Why would he do that?" Buffy asked.

"The less people that live here, the less people can be turned into vampires." Cordelia explained as if to a child.

Giles was pretty impressed.

"I could also arrange for this town to wind up a military town or Jaffa settlement. That way all the residents would know of the danger and be an active force in the event of an emergency." Xander mused.

"Lot's of hunky men?" Cordelia asked.

Xander rolled his eyes but nodded.

"See, even more good reasons." She said assertively.

Joyce eventually called them together to make an announcement.

"I'm moving to Colorado Springs to start a Child Care Centre with Sha're." She told them

"We're leaving Sunnydale?" Buffy asked in horror as she clutched at Oz.

"Not really, more like I am leaving Sunnydale." Joyce said with a wry smile. "I spoke to George and Xander, they have arranged so that you can have the same set up as when you were away from Sunnydale to take a break. You can teleport back to our new home for dinner and sleep."

"Won't that be expensive for them?" She asked.

"Nah, when the AI's built the thing, they just built another one with it's own power supply. It is run by the AI's. It will basically be a satellite in space that picks you up from one spot and drops you in another." Xander explained. "You will all have watches and you just need to contact the satellite and ask the AI's to drop you somewhere."

"Speaking of which, it's the summer." Xander said seriously. "Jenny, Giles, you have a room booked at the finest hotel in France for the week after next. The following week in London. You have plenty of money. Use it and have fun." He ordered.

He then turned to Joyce.

"Take Buffy and Oz and go wherever you like. Disneyland, Hollywood, Paris, Spain… hell, I'll take you to the Nox home world if you like. Just go and do something family like."

He paused.

"Although, do it in a weeks time. This week the ladies have a trip to Italy and the finest shopping that the men only have nightmares about." He said.

There was instant squealing in surround sound.

"Gaia?" Xander called out.

"What's up?" She asked. "Oh good, still in the 90's I see." She smirked.

"You busy this week?" Xander asked.

"I'm only busy when you get in trouble." She snarked.

Xander continued to ignore her jibes. "I thought you might like to join the rest of the girls on their fashion trip. Sam, Janet and Cassie will be joining them… I think they are planning on dragging Sha're too. Which means Oz and I will be on babysitting duty. Daniel won't be able to handle Jordy, Nicky _and_ Jack at the same time."

There was a short silence before the girls suddenly broke and grabbed Gaia and dragged her to the couch.

"She's coming." Buffy declared.

Whilst the girls spent the week shopping, Jack declared the boys would learn to fish.

This went down well… until Xander asked why there were no fish in his small lake.

A small debate broke out about the point of fishing which Xander ended by jumping in the lake as a dolphin and proceeded to squirt Jack. Much to the amusement of Jordy and Nicky.

And the rest.

After that they continued to sit by the lake and relax and chat whilst the kids played.

Oz wandered off into the woods and came back with some sticks and leaves and a rather ingenious set of natural fishing rods for the boys to play with.

This led to Xander jumping in the pool as a fish and pulling the stick fish around for the boys.

But the week passed too quickly and they headed back to Sunnydale as a group to await the arrival of the ladies.

Said arrival was met with stunned silence, dropped jaws and a little question from Jordy of:

"Can it rain inside?" As he rubbed his now wet hair.

Which fortunately brought Daniel out of his daze to wipe his mouth.

In all honesty it wasn't his fault. His wife usually wore long skirts and dresses that were fairly thick and suitable for Abydos. Somehow the others must have broken her down to get her in the summer dress she was now wearing.

"Delta, please tell me your getting pictures and vids of all this." Xander said pleadingly.

"I am, as well as Daniel's drooling." The green AI remarked.

This seemed to break the rest of the men out of the daze as they stared at Daniel in amusement.

"Well look at my wife! She was always beautiful but now they framed that beauty." He argued. "On second thoughts, eyes off my wife. Xander, you're babysitting." He declared as he strode up to his wife and dragged the giggling and blushing Sha're from the room.

The other ladies were wearing an assortment of summer wear and sophisticated yet casual clothing.

Buffy and Jenny grabbed their men and dragged them off.

Whilst the others watched in amusement.

"Well, I know its not glamorous, but I'm drafting the rest of you into babysitting. I'll be damned if I'm gonna be stuck on my own, even if I do love these boys." Xander declared.

What followed was Jordy's first trip to Disneyland with Xander, SG1, Willow and Gaia. Cordelia and Joyce wanted to relax and stayed at home with Nicky.

SG1 returned to duty after two weeks and those going off on assigned holidays did so.

Willow and Xander spent some time together as they had not been able to with Xander's exile.

They spent most of their time setting up the new Summers home. They saved a bundle on movers as Xander could grab things and teleport them. The whole thing took a week though as Willow packed the small items into boxes and Xander started moving the larger objects such as tables and sofas. Clothes stayed in dressers as it was simpler. And Xander was strong enough to lift it.

Willow also wanted to experiment with his new ability to summon his armour. They found that if he removed it manually and left it somewhere it would disappear from there when summoned. But if he banished it, it seemed to go 'into the sword'.

They experimented by visiting the SGC and loading Xander up with various weaponry and tools and then having him banish the armour or manually remove it.

Much to every ones delight it worked when they gave him a backpack filled with weaponry. This meant that Xander could act as a mobile armoury when necessary.

Willow the AI's and a few SGC technicians started to design armoured backpacks that would only respond to Xander, an AI or a code from a GDO. The idea being that Xander could drop the pack somewhere hidden and others could use it when necessary. A hidden weapons cache.

The rest of the Scoobies returned from their holidays including Cordelia who had her usual summer getaway.

The boredom soon set in.

Vampires were in short supply as it was. Angelus' minions having been taken out by the Jaffa and SG teams. Jeff had been keeping up with staking on his table.

So there wasn't much to do.

Xander, Buffy, Oz and the local Jaffa had taken to sparring. Xander without his armour. It had taken a lot of convincing that the Jaffa should fight their lord. Buffy and Oz had taken to dog piling on Xander to try and convince them.

They finally caved and Xander and Oz began to learn how to really fight in hand to hand. Oz had no training, he merely dove in a tore things apart by brute strength.

Xander had his Spartan training, but he was still more of a gun or plasma sword guy.

Then came the call from George. Teal'c had been found injured by an offworld Stargate and the rest of the team was missing.

Xander vanished and reappeared by Teal'c in a second.

"How is he Janet?" Xander asked. The SG staff were used to Xander popping in and weren't going to hold it against him that he hadn't used the teleportation room.

"On the edge. He might not make it." She said sadly.

"The Tok'ra?" He asked.

"Jacob is on his way now." Janet said.

"If he can't fix him, call me. I'll take him to the Nox or Asgard." Xander said. "I'll be with the General."

Janet sighed as Xander vanished.

George was on the phone… the red one.

"Sir, I know, but with just a few teams we can chase up more leads an- Lord Xander, greetings." George said formally, the President did know how informal they were but it helped with the bureaucratic crap.

"Yes sir, he's just arrived… of course sir. Lord Xander, the President would like a word."

"Greetings Mr President, I hear our premiere team is in a bit of trouble… again." Xander said dryly.

After a brief conversation, which George felt wasn't as good as it could have been Xander hung up the phone.

"We've agreed that my people will chase the leads, as soon as we have a solid one, we will call in everyone." Xander said.

George sighed. It was better than nothing. He really wanted to be out there himself.

"Do you have a plan?" George asked.

"Of course. I'm gonna turn into a small fly and teleport to each one and make sure they are ok and get them out of there." Xander grinned.

George rolled his eyes. "Sometimes you take all the fun out of a good search and rescue." He groused.

"Aw, don't worry George, I intend to call everyone in once they're safe. Who ever captured them is going down, and everyone is going to get a shot." Xander said seriously.

"Ok, I better go and keep an eye on Teal'c, if he wakes up we both know he'll try and find them." George said.

"Does Sha're know?"

"She does, she's a strong woman and Joyce is with her. Gaia was visiting Nicholas at the time."

"Ok, I'll go see them first, let them know I'm on the job." He said as he vanished.

After a brief pep talk with Sha're Xander focused on Daniel and teleported to his location.

Seeing that SG1 was altogether in a small cell with an armed Jaffa guard, he quickly disabled the guards and turned to greet the team.

"You do realise you get another slot on the board for this?" He grinned.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up Animal." Jack muttered.

"So what's up, who'd you piss off this time?" He asked ignoring the hated nickname.

"No idea. They kept asking questions, tried to convince us we were 70 something years in the future and everyone we knew was dead. Even each other." Daniel said.

"Who ever it is has detailed knowledge of the SGC." Sam noted.

"Reetou?" Xander asked.

"Don't think so. The reason we didn't fall for their stories was because a) you weren't there, b) they didn't know about you." Jack grinned.

"Not to mention the Reetou would kill humans on principle." Daniel added.

"Also they don't seem to know about the new Gate Ship set up." Sam said. "They have a mock up of the whole base, but the gate room is the old set up… under the mountain."

"Ok, let me get the SGC to track my location, then we'll get out of here." Xander said.

A few minutes later they were informed that a few ships would be arriving and the gate was now being blocked by an outgoing wormhole.

"Ok gang, grab a hold and let's blow this popsicle stand."

"Hell no, I wanna find the bastard who did this and gut him!" Jack argued.

Xander rolled his eyes and quickly grabbed the three irate and baying for blood SG personnel and teleported them to the SGC Teleportation area.

The SF's on duty were a mite amused to see SG1 arguing with what was considered one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

"I don't care! And you, Daniel, your wife is waiting to make sure your well. So you three march your butts down to the infirmary and let the General and Teal'c know your good. I'm gonna go grab Sha're and I'll be back in a mo." Xander ordered.

He turned to the SF's. "Hear that boys? I'll be back in a mo with Mrs Jackson, try not to shoot us!" He grinned.

Having escorted Sha're to the infirmary, where she promptly reminded Daniel why he was such a lucky man, he turned to George.

"We couldn't tell who was in charge, but there were Jaffa. The ones guarding the cell were serpent guards." He said.

"Yeah, but the thing is, we saw Horus guards too." Jack added with a wince.

"_My_ Jaffa?" Xander asked in outrage.

"We didn't see their foreheads, just their armour." Daniel added trying to calm the visibly enraged Champion.

"Doesn't matter, they are sullying my name and the name of my Jaffa. I'll need to speak with Sayel about this. He will know the appropriate form of action to take. Teal'c too." He said grimly.

"Teal'c is well, just sleeping now. He will be awake in an hour." Janet said.

"Yes he was badly injured, but nothing too complicated that the healing device couldn't fix." Selmak offered.

"Ok, George, Selmak can you talk to Sayel? I'm gonna head back to the planet and do some recon." Xander said.

"Load up your armoured backpack first. Just in case." George said.

"Sure, I'll probably stay in a bug form unless I need my sensors." Xander shrugged. And then he vanished.

"How comes he gets to go back!" Jack moaned.

George just glared at him.

Xander arrived back in the cell and realised he had a problem.

Granted his bug forms were great for going around unnoticed… but they couldn't open doors.

So he donned his armour and went invisible.

This presented him with a new problem.

The Jaffa were _everywhere_.

He couldn't walk down the corridors like this so he turned back into a bug, flying high over the heads.

Xander was confused. There were also Jackal guards amongst the Serpent and Horus guards.

He didn't know of any Jaffa armies that worked together. His own not withstanding.

The problem was he couldn't figure out where to go. It was a big place and clearly not a ship.

Xander decided to call it quits. He'd clearly need SG1 to guide him. He teleported back to the SGC.

"Hey George, these guys good to go?" He asked indicating SG1 and a now fully awake Teal'c.

"I haven't cleared them, but there are no obvious signs of trouble." Janet remarked.

"Problem Xander?" George asked. "You weren't gone long."

"Bug form wasn't good for dealing with doors. Too many Jaffa to creep around in my armour. And I got lost." He added with a sheepish grin.

Jack just snorted.

"In my defence it was not a ship so I had no way of knowing where everything was." Xander said indignantly.

Before they could continue their back and forth, Sayel arrived.

"My lord, is it true there were Horus guard there?" He asked in anger.

"They bore the mark of Horus on their forehead." Xander said sadly.

"They must be killed my lord." Sayel said firmly. "The rest of your Jaffa and people are loyal to you. I do not know what would possess them to turn against you and your allies. But they have done. They must have been prepared to pay the price."

"I agree, but it must be done as humanely as possible, if they are not taken down in battle." Xander said gravely.

"What!" Jack objected.

"Jack, we can't trust these men any more. The next best thing would be exile, but I consider that worse than death." Xander said.

"How would that be worse?" Daniel asked.

"Something Teal'c once told me he worried about. That eventually Junior would mature and overtake him." Xander said. "They made their choice, they are now on the opposing side. Hopefully they will fall in battle."

"We will take no satisfaction from killing our brethren. But they cannot be allowed to spread false lies." Sayel added.

"I too agree with Lord Xander's decision." Teal'c said.

Jack just looked to the General.

"We have no power to persuade Xander to do anything. The fact is both the President and I trust him to make appropriate decisions. And he has the backing of Gaia and the Almighty… what more could you ask for?" George said.

"Could we at least check with Gaia, see if there is another way?" Sam suggested.

"Ok." Xander said. "Gaia?"

"Talk about tension!" Gaia said as she appeared. "Yes Jack I've been listening." She said forestalling his rant. "But it all comes down to freewill. The Jaffa have the right to follow who they will. The problem is that most people don't realise that the choices we make come with consequences and responsibilities.

"They chose to follow a Goa'uld. They _know_ Xander is far more powerful than any little worm, but they made their choice. They knew what the Goa'uld would make them do to other innocents, and now they must face the enemy. In this case Xander." She said seriously.

"And God is ok with this?" Jack asked.

"You know your bible, right Jack?" Gaia asked.

"Go read the Battle of Jericho. She ordered that because they were basically evil humans. These Jaffa are supporting evil demons." Gaia said calmly as she vanished.

"It still doesn't seem right." Jack muttered in resignation.

"Good, means that we won't ever stoop as low as the Goa'uld." Xander said firmly.

"You have a plan?" George asked quietly.

"SG1 takes me back, shows me the lay of the land. We take Church for that extra reconnaissance and Delta can hack their systems. From the outside you and Sayel arrange an attack. Make it big and loud, but stay behind fortifications… basically, don't die." Xander said. "If I get the chance I'll confront the head worm and squash them, Delta can hopefully broadcast it so we can peacefully take control of the rest of the Jaffa and planets out there."

"You're going to claim them?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Xander sighed running a hand through his hair. "If I remove their leader they will be lost to in-fighting, possibly turn to another Goa'uld. That makes them my responsibility. I would like Teal'c, the Tok'ra and some SG personnel to work with Sayel and his Jaffa in sorting them out. If they see the eclectic bunch at work, they may not feel like the oppressed, so much."

"I'll talk to the President, get things rolling. I'll also call up Garshaw." George agreed. "Doctor, can you clear SG1?"

"As it is an emergency, I will clear them as they pass the basic tests and there is nothing overtly wrong. But I want them back here for a full examination afterwards. And Xander, bring them back if you think you need to." She said.

"Very well, SG1, go gear up. You ship out as soon as you are ready. I have phone calls to make and a battle to arrange."

"If you agree, I will order my men to beam down to the planet to begin securing the Stargate, that way you may come through safely." Sayel suggested.

"Sounds like a good plan." George agreed. "Call us if you think there is anything useful we can send through."

"Also, I believe it would be best if Lord Xander and SG1 waited till we begin our attack, that way they can predict the movements of the soldiers better." Sayel added.

"They'll all run to the battle." Teal'c agreed.

Jack led SG1 and Xander through the deserted halls of the Goa'uld stronghold. They didn't know what the allied forces were doing out there, but it was clear they were getting the enemy's attention.

"Hey, Teal'c, what's with all the gold, is it real?" Xander asked on a whim.

"Opulence." He said simply.

"What, it has no strategic value, defensive properties for the Goa'uld?" He asked disbelievingly.

Teal'c raised the haft of his staff weapon and drove it into the nearest wall, a chunk fell off.

"They use it merely to advertise their wealth and power." He explained handing the chunk to Xander.

"Right." Xander said. "Jack, Sam, when we get back remind me to ask about trading some gold for something that will protect my people." He said.

They eventually made it back into the SGC Mock-up and found the fake gate room. Delta went to work in the computers and Church went off to look around.

Unfortunately they suddenly found themselves surrounded by Jaffa.

Each team member was separated from Xander, who was given a wide berth by the Jaffa soldiers. No body wanted to get too close to someone that well armoured.

"We have indeed missed you, our beloved." A voice said as a read headed woman shimmered into view.

"Oh, I was so hoping never to see you again?" Jack groaned.

"Oh? Who's the worm?" Xander asked.

This received a sharp command from the woman and a clearly reluctant Jaffa struck him on the back of his head.

Which was encased in an armoured helmet.

Xander just turned his head and stared at the Jaffa, who just gulped.

This was very menacing considering his face was hidden behind the gold visor.

"Who are you?" Hathor demanded.

"Me? From what I've heard you don't know about me. I'm Lord Xander. Now then, demon." He commanded. "Who are you?"

"I am Hathor, mother of the Goa'uld." She said confusion marring her face as her mouth betrayed her.

"Well then Hathor. It is my pleasure to end you." He said, this was good, kill the mother and no more Goa'uld… he hoped. "Demon, you will leave the host."

As always the worm shot out of the hosts mouth.

"Jack, care to do the honours?" Xander offered.

"With pleasure." Jack said heading over to the writhing snake.

One of the serpent guards raised his staff weapon to stop him, but found himself impale on a glowing sword made of light.

He dropped to the floor, a lifeless, dead, weight.

Jack stepped on the snake.

"On your knees Jaffa and surrender your weapons." Xander commanded. His whole posture was screaming attack. The first Jaffa that decided to defy him would clearly get closely acquainted with his sword of light.

The Jaffa slowly dropped their weapons. SG1 reclaiming theirs as Daniel and Sam took possession of the dropped firearms.

"Church, you hear me?" Xander called out.

"Yeah Xan?" Church responded over the radio.

"We found the big bad, some Goa'uld named Hathor, find the leaders of our guys out side and let them know?" He asked.

"That will not be necessary, following the tactics of Ma'al I have been broadcasting the whole scene to the battlefield. Not to mention to all connected systems. You may wish to address them." Delta said over the system.

Xander noted a camera in the corner, a common feature in the Gate Room.

"Hear me Jaffa." He said in a loud voice imitating the speech pattern that the Goa'uld used. "I am Lord Xander. The Goa'uld Killer. I have destroyed the false god called Hathor and I claim her territories and holdings. Any who defy me will be killed. Any who surrender peacefully and swear loyalty will be treated with respect and may find a home amongst my warriors, those who wish to retire from battle will be given the chance.

"But as an act of commitment I must ask that that those serpent guards who served Hathor and wish to swear allegiance to me, must now kill the Horus guards who also served Hathor. They have betrayed me, their fellow Horus Guard and all who know my protection. This is the price of their treason.

"If peace has not settled on the battlefield before I conclude my business here, you will be facing me personally."

Xander gave a nod to the control room and Delta cut the signal.

"Transmission ended." The AI informed them.

Xander turned to the three Horus Guard in the room.

Slowly Xander reached for a staff weapon, banishing his armour as he did so.

"You have committed an act of treason. You must suffer the consequences. I am not without mercy, I will make it quick." Xander said as he ignited the weapon to fire.

_"My lord."_ One of the Horus guards called out, fear clear in his voice. _"What will happen to our families."_

"I do not hold the children responsible for the crimes of their parents. They will remain safe in my care as long as they do not make the same mistakes you made." Xander said.

"_Thank you my lord._" The Jaffa said bowing his head.

Three short bursts later and there were three dead Jaffa at Xander's feet.

"What did he ask Xander?" Sam asked. They had not been speaking English.

"He wanted to make sure his family wouldn't pay for his mistake." Xander said as a tear rolled down his cheek.

Xander had now carried out five executions. It didn't seem to get easier. But at least he could keep his grip.

"You two, come here." Xander ordered the two Goa'uld who were dressed in some uniform of a sort.

Xander looked at the man. "I see you demon. Leave the host." He commanded.

This time Jack vaporised the snake as it hit the floor.

Xander looked at him in askance.

"Better than cleaning demon gunk off our shoes!" He shrugged.

Xander chuckled mirthlessly and refocused on the woman.

"Identify yourself." He said calmly.

"I am Raleigh of the Tok'ra." She responded unable to resist the command.

"You don't know about me?" He asked.

Raleigh shook her head.

"You haven't spoken to your Tok'ra brethren then in sometime?" He prodded.

"No, I know nothing of value, I am undercover and contact is inadvisable." She said defiantly. She would not betray her friends and family.

"Easy, I'm good friends with the Tok'ra." Xander said. "Give me a sec and I'll go get Garshaw and Yosuf." He said vanishing.

"Don't worry, my dad is Selmak's new host." Sam assured her.

This only seemed to confuse her.

"Daniel, can you go check on the former hosts?" Jack said. Past experience said that they would revert back to their language of origin, so only Daniel or Xander could communicate.

Xander suddenly reappeared with Garshaw and Sayel, Garshaw heading to Raleigh and Sayel immediately ordering Jaffa and SG teams to be sent to his location.

Xander went over to the former host of Hathor and picked her up in his arms. "After the former host of Apophis died of rapid aging I spoke to Thor and he offered to ensure hosts who have been subjected to extended use of the sarcophagus are helped." He then vanished leaving a thoroughly confused and bewildered Raleigh to the explanations of her friends and colleagues.


	19. Chapter 19

The rest of the summer for Xander was spent patrolling at nights and partying at the Bronze with the girls, Gaia having become a permanent fixture and certified Scooby. Willow had printed out a certificate for her.

Xander spent his days working with the mixed team of Jaffa, humans and Tok'ra to ensure a smooth transition for his newly acquired territories. Raleigh proved to be a big help having been high up the chain of command.

Fortunately, Hathor did not have much in the way of conquered planets. She had merely collected an assortment of ships, technology and Jaffa. This made things slightly easier.

The odd collection of Horus and Serpent guards meant that every now and again groups of Jaffa would flinch at each other. Fortunately nothing occurred beyond that, but the tension was there.

Sayel suggested that either a way to remove the tattoos or change them would be beneficial.

Xander didn't like the idea of branding his soldiers, but at the same time they considered it a badge of honour.

Gaia who was present at the time slapped Xander round the back of the head when he jokingly mentioned a symbol depicting Scooby-Doo.

Most of the assembled humans did the same.

Selmak however broke down in tears of laughter having been in control of Jacob's body at the time and run through Jacob's memories of said canine.

In the end they decided to ask Daniel to come up with some ideas that might be appropriate for everyone.

Xander also went to have talks with Tonane and the Spirits. Sam had pointed out that the metal they wanted to mine was the best thing they had come across and would be ideal for his ships.

Tonane had been reluctant at first but Xander had offered to introduce him to the goddess of the universe and see if she could come up with a solution.

"Tonane, let them mine." Gaia said simply. "The universe is designed to live in harmony, yes. But all creatures have the right to bend nature and use it to survive." She explained. "Take the birds in this forest. They build their nests from twigs, other animals burrow into the ground. Other animals kill each other for food. Just like your tribe.

"Respecting your environment is good, but don't think that you aren't entitled to use the environment.

"As long as Xander's friends respect you and try not destroy the environment unnecessarily, there should be no problem."

"So we should allow them to bring their machines and tear up the land?" Tonane asked in shock.

"As long as they try and keep it small, and take every effort to respect that this is _your_ home, then there is no reason to stop them. I say this as the Goddess of the Universe, the planets and stars are filled with natural resources for all beings to make use of. That is why the Creator made them." She smiled.

Tonane seemed unsure still. He knew he would not be able to convince the village elders. So Xander offered to show him some of his planets and Earth, Xe-ls would accompany them.

As fascinated as Tonane was by Earth, the big cities were far too much for him and he recoiled from them.

But he was intrigued by the smaller towns like Sunnydale. Giles had recommended taking him to a few small towns in the UK, so Giles acting as guide took Tonane and Xe-ls by himself with the AI's providing transport.

Gaia pointed out that in all fairness he had to see the Nox. Xander grimaced at that as he hadn't been back for training since before the summer.

So he introduced Tonane to Oz, and decided to drag him along, at least that way he might get to enjoy the Nox being sent into confusion as Oz tore their logic apart.

Sure enough Anteaus was not pleased about their absence.

"The world does not revolve around you." He admonished calmly.

"No, I revolve around the world… kinda my job." Xander grumbled. "Look I was busy, not to mention injured."

"Excuses are meaningless. You must own up to your mistakes." He said slightly snottily.

"You are aware the world does not revolve around you?" Oz asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course, we know much of the world." He said affronted.

"Then, do you know much of the universe?" Oz continued.

"We have travelled the universe in our youth. Now we are older and understand that our place is here." Anteaus said indicating the forest.

"Then you don't care about the rest of the universe?" Oz asked. "You don't care that there are innocent people out there who can't hide like you do and are killed and torture?" He pressed.

"We care, we just feel it is not our place to interfere." Anteaus said sagely.

"But you seem intent on imposing your ways on others. Xander has a responsibility to the Universe, his 'place' is out there, everywhere. And you practically condemn his actions." Oz said a slight heat entering his voice.

Gaia meanwhile, who never missed an Oz vs Nox debate was grinning like a loon.

"We do not!" Anteaus protested getting flustered.

"Tonane, what do you think?" Gaia asked.

Tonane took a moment to consider this.

"Xander is the warrior and guardian of his people and his village… it's a big village." He admitted wryly. "He is not an elder, he knows this and I have seen him turn to his elders for advice. But even the elders know that when it comes to battle, and fulfilling the role of guardian, they must stand aside and offer only their support."

"You are very young, as is Xander." Anteaus said loftily. "The very young do not always understand."

"Then why do you create arguments instead of teach?" Tonane asked. "You cannot tell a child he is wrong with out telling him why he is wrong." He argued.

Unfortunately the Nox were too stubborn to believe that the young could actually have a deeper insight than them. Xander got fed up and joined in the argument.

"You believe that you know better because you are older, and have more experience, yes?" He asked tightly.

"That is the truth of the universe." Anteaus said.

"How old are the Nox?" Xander asked. "As a race, how long have the Nox been around?"

"By your measurements, one million, five hundred thousand and thirty-eight years." He said with little pause.

"Gaia, how long have you been around?" He asked the goddess who was slightly shocked at being brought in.

"I can't say, I was created before time started. But I am older than the universe." She shrugged.

"Do you believe that we are wrong in what we have done?" Xander asked. "Do you believe that the Nox are living up to their own potential as Elders in this universe?"

"Of course not!" She said in exasperation. "They have this pacifistic attitude that while all well and good for personal survival is detrimental to the rest of the universe. They are not guilty of inflicting pain, but of sins of omission, Edmund Burke, a human from Xander and Oz's world said it best: 'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.'" She slumped slightly spent as she finished her rant.

Tonane looked thoughtful. "Gaia is right. And as long as she agrees to allow Xander, Oz or herself to ensure the safety of my people and land, we will allow mining of the metal you desire." Tonane said. "We can not allow ourselves to be responsible for more evil to grow."

Xe-ls, who had been perched on a nearby branch, began to caw. Speaking only to Xander and Tonane.

"Of course, you may choose whichever form you wish, it will not change who you are." Tonane smiled.

"Why does he talk to a bird?" Anteaus pondered, maybe the humans had gone insane.

He was fairly shocked when the Raven flew to the ground morphing in mid flight into a humanoid alien.

"Gaia's words are correct. As was this, Edmund Burke. As such, we cannot endorse fighting, or anything that will disrupt the lives of Tonane's people, but we can at least try and provide some means of support for those that would fight on their behalf."

"You're a humanoid?" Anteaus said in shock.

"You didn't know?" Xander asked in disbelief.

"I just assumed it was a pet of some kind, many younger people keep them."

"Xe-ls and his people have been guides for Tonane's people for many years. But to be honest, I think they have more of a familial friendship than a mentor/tutor relationship." Xander said.

"Just because many follow a path, does not mean that is the correct path to follow." Anteaus maintained.

"Yes, but just because you believe you are right, does not mean you _are_ right." Xander said with a sigh.

"They are correct Anteaus." Opher said as he appeared with Lya. "This does not mean we must take up there ways. But we cannot deny they are right. We must support them, or the evil will reach us. It is inevitable."

"We will offer aid where we can, but we can not take up arms." Lya said speaking directly to Xander.

"That is more than we ever hoped for." He said with a slight bow. "Speaking of aid and not taking up arms." Xander said as light went off in his head. "You might have heard Tonane say we could mine for an ore that makes our shielding stronger… our ships less likely to fall out of the sky. Perhaps you would know of a way to do this that will decrease the risk of damage to the land?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea." Gaia said. "You can teach the humans how to mine properly so that Tonane and Xe-ls don't have to worry so much."

"Agreed, make arrangements with your people and Tonane's and we will meet you at Tonane's village." Lya said with a soft smile.

After getting Tonane and Xe-ls home, Oz, Gaia and Xander slumped down in the new Summers House living room exhausted.

Arguing with Anteaus was hard work. Especially as you always seemed to be trudging up hill through a mudslide.

But it was done. The plans were made and soon the ore would be available.

Xander was spent for the rest of the holidays. Only a week remaining. Fortunately SG1 was able to not get into trouble and patrols consisted of quiet walks through cemeteries with the occasional demon looking for trouble. Xander seemed to be catching a break.


	20. Chapter 20

As fate seemed fond of doing, things started happening and they all started happening at the same time. A week into being back at school and the new Slayer arrived.

Giles was astonished as he had been searching since Kendra's death. The Council was stonewalling and even the AI's couldn't track her down.

And yet there she was dancing at the bronze.

With a vampire.

Oz pointed out that she was probably playing bait, but the group followed anyway, just to be safe.

The ensuing fight was short.

As was the introduction.

Xander suggested they head for Giles at the library to let him know what was going on.

They enjoyed a nice slow walk, whilst Faith, the new Slayer, regaled them with tales of daring do… and nudity. Oz and Gaia frowned as they heard the stories.

Something didn't add up.

Soon they reached the library where a flustered Giles made apologies for not knowing about her arrival.

"Where did you travel from?" He asked.

"Boston, my home town." She shrugged.

"You weren't raised by the council?" Oz asked.

"No, my Ma raised me… my dad would normally do it, but he ain't been around." She said indifferently.

"Does your mother know you are here?" Giles asked.

Faith snorted. "My Ma wouldn't care if I stayed at the White House."

"And your Watcher?" He prodded.

"Off at some retreat back in the Motherland." She shrugged.

"Ah, yes." Giles said with realisation.

"So you came of your own accord then?" Gaia asked.

"Yep, what's with the twenty questions?" She asked getting a little irritated.

"They keep us from getting dead." Xander said seriously.

"How? You bore them to death with endless questions?" She said snidely.

"The more we know, the better we can be sure you are who you say you are." Xander clarified.

"Trust me, I'm me." She grinned.

"One last question." Xander said. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen." She replied.

Xander sighed and turned to Oz. "What do you think? Runaway, maybe 15?" He asked.

"Maybe slightly older, hard to tell. Could check with the Council though. Definitely not supposed to be here." Oz agreed.

"Yeah, scared too." Xander nodded.

"What are you two on about?" Cordelia asked.

"Oz and I have been learning to use our heightened senses to tell when someone is lying, heartbeats and all that." Xander explained. "Faith is the Slayer, she is not eighteen, and she is not here with permission." Xander said.

"Are you calling me a liar!" Faith demanded angrily.

"Yes." Oz said without hesitation.

Faith opened and closed her mouth several times, but was unable to come up with a retort.

"Also, those stories she told us aren't true either." Gaia added.

They all turned to look at Gaia.

"You don't think I can't tell when someone is lying?" She asked with bemused look. "Oh and she's 16." She added.

"Faith, who is your Watcher and were is she?" Giles asked sternly.

"Alice Giles. Dead." She said glumly.

Giles just dropped to the floor and vomited.

Buffy and Xander rushing to help him.

"Rupert!" Jenny cried.

"It's his sister." Faith said quietly. "She told me if anything ever happened I should come straight to Sunnydale and Rupert Giles, her brother."

"Delta, call the General, see if he can spare Janet and some of SG1 or himself." Xander ordered.

Faith just looked around, wondering who he was talking to.

Jenny was on the floor, Xander having dragged him away from the mess. Gaia took a moment to vanish it.

"Faith, who killed her?" Xander asked firmly.

Faith hesitated, her hands shaking.

"Can't kill him if we don't know who he is." Buffy added.

Faith gave a disbelieving laugh. "You think it's that easy? Stakes don't work on him. He is way stronger than a Slayer and he doesn't even have hands and feet any more. He's got these goats feet."

"Faith, Buffy is the strongest Slayer ever." Willow said calmly having rejoined them as Cordelia took her place helping Jenny tend to Giles. "Not because she can physically beat you in an arm wrestling contest, but because she has excellent backup. Cordelia and myself are researchers, Gaia and Giles have huge amounts of info, Oz is… stronger than Buffy physically and Xander… well, Xander's list is too long to go into right now."

"So why don't I get any of those things?" She asked pleadingly.

"You do." Xander said. "Now. You would have had them when you were activated, but we couldn't find you. We think the Council was keeping Giles in the dark, they never even told us about Kendra, the Slayer who died so you were activated."

"Giles is going to mighty pissed when he gets over his shock, the Council is going to be in big trouble. They got his sister killed." Buffy said.

There was a flash from the office that found Faith in a full battle ready position.

"Easy, just some friends of mine." Xander assured her.

Janet and Jack soon exited the office, Janet heading straight for Giles.

"Faith, this is Jack O'Neill, a Colonel in the Air Force, you'll likely see him and his team a lot. The one tending to Giles is Janet Frasier, a doctor at Jack's base." Xander said.

"My dad always talked about a Jack O'Neill." Faith said, she was still pretty much in shock that her careful web of lies was torn apart so easily.

"Yeah, Air Force?" Jack asked.

Faith nodded. "A Major."

"What was his name? There's another O'Neil but he only has one 'L'." Jack smirked.

"Kowalski, Charles Kowalski." She said slumping into a chair.

Jack went white.

Xander was worried he might pull a Giles.

"Jack, you ok? Do I need to call Janet over?" Xander asked pushing Jack into a chair.

"He never mentioned he had a daughter." Jack said quietly, he looked up at Xander. "I knew he was divorced, but not that he had children."

"He left us anyway, so it don't matter." Faith said sullenly.

"Left you? When?" Jack asked.

"About two or three years ago." Faith said. "Just said he had a job to do and never came back. He always called or wrote me before, but this time nothing. Figured he had enough of Mom's drinking."

"Faith, he never came back because he was killed in action." Jack said softly. "He was the dedicated sort, he was a bit of a joker, but he wouldn't give up on a kid." Jack said firmly.

"Then why didn't no one tell us?" Faith demanded.

"Is there a chance they told your mom and she never told you?" Oz asked.

"Sounds right." Faith groused.

"Xander, you got plans for setting her up?" Jack asked.

"Figured she could stay with Buffy, Joyce and myself. I definitely want her given the same rights and protections as Buffy and the rest. I have a feeling the Council will try and get her back." Xander said.

"Don't I get a say!" Faith demanded.

"Not really, you're a minor. You need a guardian. Buffy's mom, Joyce, will be happy to fill that role, we aren't going to let you go out and die somewhere because you don't have backup. You asked where your support is… here we are." Xander said.

"You really think you can take on the Greek Freak?" Faith scoffed.

"Greek Freak?" Jack asked.

"Some uber vamp." Buffy offered.

"You've got Jaffa out right?" He asked.

"Yep, they see anything they'll report it and watch it. If it's a vamp they'll report and engage. If they're not sure, they'll call it in and wait for orders." Xander said.

"What's a Jaffa?" Faith asked.

"A special warrior. They kinda work for me. You'll wind up training with them as they can take a beating as good as they give. Also you'll train against me and Oz."

"I still don't see how a bunch of civies think they can take on a Slayer." Faith said in disbelief.

"That's because you're assuming we're simple humans." Oz said.

"You're not gonna tell me?" She asked.

Xander looked to Oz, who just shrugged. Both pushed off the table and transformed.

Faith fell backward over her chair as she was confronted by a huge wolf and a black panther.

Buffy and Gaia were giggling whilst Willow just rolled her eyes.

"Are they showing off again?" Cordelia called out.

"Definitely." Willow responded.

Both boys transformed back as Janet approached.

"Colonel, I'm taking Rupert back to the base. He's still in shock, and I want to keep an eye on him. Jenny will come too." Janet reported.

"Ok Doc, carry on." He ordered.

Janet and Jenny helped Giles into a standing position as Janet called for pick up and a gurney to the base.

They vanished in a flash of light causing Faith to scuttle further back on her butt.

"What is with all the animals and flashing people!" She demanded.

"That is a very long story." Gaia said. "Xander will fill you in later. "For now you need to know about two things. One, you won't be sleeping in Sunnydale, and your location is classified so this Kakistos will not be able to find you. Two, Xander here will likely be the one to take out Kakistos, so you won't have to worry about him."

"Three, you'll be coming back everyday for school and patrolling. You won't be the one to face Kakistos, but you will be there to witness it." Xander added.

"Agreed, she needs to see that nothing is undefeatable… except God." Jack smiled.

"I still don't believe a couple of animals can take out a vamp." Faith said in disbelief.

"You might as well show her." Jack said. "She won't stop worrying till she knows for sure."

Xander pushed off from the table again and summoned his armour, plasma sword in hand.

Faith found herself on the floor again.

"I am Lord Xander. Slayer of false gods and the Champion of the Universe in service to the goddess Gaia. No mere vampire will threaten my friends and family and walk this earth." He said with as much menace as he could muster.

Oz deciding to play to Xander's imposing figure transformed again growling slightly.

"This is Oz, a true werewolf, a Hound of God." Xander said playing up to Oz.

Gaia, seeing that poor Faith was about to wet herself, not that Buffy and Jack were helping with their snickering, decided to step in and add credence to their play and play the role of calming influence.

"Easy my Champion. She is young and scared, she lashes out at the world around her, hoping that she can stop it before it attacks her. She will learn in time that she has found her safe haven." Gaia said resting a hand on Xander's armoured shoulder.

Xander bowed slightly in his armour. "As you say My Lady."

Xander banished his armour and Oz transformed.

"Not all of Xander's battles are won easily. Because of my own actions he was recently exiled from the Hellmouth by the Creator and his duties here fell to Oz. His exile has been lifted and he has returned home." Gaia said gently helping Faith to her feet.

Faith for her part was staring fearfully at the two young men.

"Faith, don't worry about these two, they're really just a couple of teddy bears." Willow said glaring at the two boys who were looking a bit sheepish.

"Xander, cat, now." Gaia ordered.

"Do I have to?" He whined, a far cry from the armoured menace previously occupying the library.

Gaia just glared at him.

The next thing Faith knew there was a small black kitten perched in her lap.

"See, nothing to worry about. You should see him play with his godson and Jordy, they always demand the Kitty over Doggy rides." Buffy said smirking.

"I think I should be offended." Oz remarked. "But I'm not." He shrugged.

Faith was escorted to the Summers' home in Colorado. Joyce was pleased that Faith had finally turned up. Like the rest of the gang she was outraged at the lack of support a Slayer received.

The following day Xander stayed home from school, he needed to be around to help get Faith put in Joyce's custody and have her placed under his diplomatic protection.

Faith was shocked again when she suddenly found herself in a military base surrounded by military personnel.

All of them heavily armed. Her wooden stake and vaunted slayer strength didn't seem like such a big deal when confronted by all those high velocity projectile weapons.

Gaia and Joyce were quietly assuring Faith that she wasn't in danger.

They made their way to the briefing room where General Hammond was waiting for them with Jack and Daniel.

"General, Daniel this is Faith Kawalsky." Jack said grinning.

"Lehane, my name is Faith Lehane." Faith said quietly.

"Oh, ok, well, that's fine. Bottom line is she's Charlie's daughter." Jack shrugged.

"Wow, its great to meet you." Daniel said in awe. "I'm real sorry about your dad. He was a great man."

Faith just looked indifferent.

"She was never told he died, her mom let her think he just didn't want her." Jack explained at George and Daniel's confused looks.

"Never happen. The only mistake he made was not telling us about you so we could tell you personally." Daniel said.

"He probably didn't want it made public knowledge in case someone like Maybourne or Samuels thought they could use her to get him." Jack offered.

"Maybe you could get the paperwork sorted and then explain what happened to Charlie." Joyce suggested.

"Of course." General Hammond said indicating that they should all take a seat.

About an hour and a half later and the paperwork was filed and notarized. Being friends with the President had perks.

Then they explained about the fate of Major Charles Kawalsky.

They called Teal'c and Jacob to explain the Goa'uld, Sha're demanded to see the daughter of one of the men who saved her people.

Faith found herself a sudden celebrity, even Ferretti and Tyler showing up to see the child of one their own.

Jack offered to accompany Joyce, Faith and Xander to the school to get her enrolled.

Jack got to meet Principal Snyder for the first time.

"I have no interest and no obligation to accept one of _his_ friends." Snyder sneered at Xander who was leaning against the wall by the door.

"You don't need an interest, but you do have an obligation." Jack retorted. He wasn't sure what the problem was. They had just sat down and explained the situation. He had been hostile at the sight of Xander.

"Xander, what the hell did you do to this guy?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"I was born." Xander said dryly.

"He is a degenerate! And stain on this planet and humanity." Snyder screeched.

"Do I have to come here?" Faith asked, she was clearly not liking this guy.

"It would be best." Jack said trying to figure out the problem. "Can you give examples of his… degenerate behaviour?"

"He… I… It's that Summers' girl, both of them dragging down Ms Rosenberg with them, at least that boy Jesse is gone."

Xander pushed off the wall and started growling.

Which instantly put the fear in Snyder.

"You speak about him one more time and I am going to be in a lot of trouble." Xander said menacingly.

"See what I mean!" Snyder said backing up as far as I can.

"All I saw was you being a jerk, me wishing I had my sidearm and Xander threatening to kill you. Something he can do… he does have diplomatic immunity after all." Jack said off-handedly.

"He… what? Diplomatic immunity?" Snyder stuttered.

"Why don't we start this over." Jack said calmly. "Hi, I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill of the United States Air Force. This is Faith Lehane, she is the daughter of a fallen comrade of mine. Xander is a good friend of mine as I work with him a lot. Joyce, who is one of Xander's guardians has agreed to accept Faith as her charge as well. We would like to get Faith enrolled at this school, without issue." Jack said with a sickly sweet smile. "Of course, if issues do arise, I'm sure there are numerous members of the State Department and the President's own friends who would jump at the chance to help… sort them out."

Snyder visibly floundered. He soon caved, he didn't manage to say another word throughout the whole meeting. Jack just moved the meeting along at his own pace having Snyder sign where needed and so on.

Within twenty minutes Faith was enrolled at Sunnydale High School.

"Is it me or does that guy remind you of-"

"Anteaus, yeah. Oz said the same thing… Gaia too. Thank goodness Anteaus isn't as bad… can you imagine Snyder with the abilities of the Nox?" Xander said.

Jack just shuddered.

"Was it really a wise choice to reveal Xander's diplomatic status and ties to the military?" Joyce asked worriedly.

"Only if we had to actually prove it. Otherwise it's just his word. Besides, he doesn't know _why_ Xander has these benefits, only that Xander is untouchable, which means he even looks into it and the State Department will be breathing down his neck." Jack grinned.

The four made their way to the library where the rest of the Scoobies were gathered as school had just let out.

"Ladies and gents, I present you the latest victim- I mean student of Sunnyhell High!" Xander said theatrically.

"And you wonder why we didn't get asked to do an encore at the talent show." Buffy said with a snarky smile.

Xander took the high road. And blew her a raspberry.

Which Buffy gleefully returned.

"How's Giles?" Willow asked.

"He's doing much better." Joyce assured her. "He just needed a good nights rest and some time to absorb the shock."

"Janet plans to send him home tonight. Probably be back by the time you lot finish your patrol." Jack said.

Jack suddenly started beeping, so he went to Giles' office to answer the call.

"Any word on this Kakistos?" Xander asked.

"The AI's report an out of town limo heading into town. Boston plates." Willow said.

"Cool, sooner we put this guy back in the ground the better." Buffy said.

"The boys been told to watch out?" Xander asked.

"Yep, if they can trap him in and hold position with their staff weapons they will do that and hold him till you arrive." Willow said happily. As with Abydos Willow's red hair made her quite the celebrity with the Jaffa. Buffy was a bit disappointed as apparently blondes were in abundance.

"Ok, so standard patrols, I'll take Faith and Willow, Buffy and Oz… try and do some actual patrolling." Xander said pleadingly.

"Hey! Our way works, vampires come to us cause they see two people making out and think they're easy pickings." Buffy pouted.

"Well, keep your ears open at least." Xander said.

"O'Mally and Beta tend to keep an eye on things." Oz said with a small smile.

"Watch it Wills or I'll send you with them!" Xander told the snickering hacker.

"Well, as nice as this has been hearing about my daughter's make out sessions, I need to get back. Sha're and I are taking the boys to the park and Cassie might join us." Joyce said fighting a grin.

"Actually, I could use your help Xander." Jack said as he came back in from the office.

"Jacob says that they may have located a missing snake on Earth. Daniel found a good match. We need to head over and take control of an ATF team before they get themselves and everyone else killed and we lose the worm for another hundred years."

"Ok. Faith, you wanna come with me, go have some fun with Joyce and the kids or stay here?" Xander asked.

"Which ones safer?" She asked.

"Jordy stopped biting." Oz offered.

"Why don't the rest of you come and join Sha're the kids and myself. We can visit Rupert as well." Joyce said.

So the entire group headed off to the SGC. Cordelia stayed behind for cheerleader practice.

Giles was in much better spirits. He officially requested Xander's aid in confronting the Council over the death of his sister and Kendra. Xander was only too happy to agree. Oz and Buffy stated their intent to be there as well.

Faith wanted to go too, Alice had been good to her. She wanted justice, and a healthy dollop of vengeance.

Joyce dragged the Scoobies off, Giles and Jenny joining them as Janet was going too.

Jack and Xander headed off to the briefing room to meet with Jacob, George and the rest of SG1.

It seemed that some Goa'uld named Seth kept building cults and then killing the members. The ATF was about to raid his latest hideout on weapons charges. Chances were he had Zat guns and the ATF was going to get slaughtered.

"So, I go in with invisibility. Confront Seth, kill the worm and what?" Xander asked.

"Not that simple, I'm afraid." Sam said with a wince.

"It is likely that the cult members are under the influence of a mind control drug called Nishta. It can be countered by an electric shock, but you will still have to apply it to all of them." Selmak explained.

"Ok, so… I go in with invisibility. Confront Seth, kill the worm and zat the minions?"

"Any one got a better idea?" Jack asked.

"We could enter the building after Xander has dealt with Seth, using Jaffa stun grenades we can incapacitate the… minions… and stun them as we go through." Teal'c offered.

"I don't think we're going to get a better plan than that, you have a go people." George said dismissing them.

Twenty minutes later, SG1 had seized command of the AFT team before they got killed.

Thirty minutes later Xander was standing in Seth's throne room.

Dead worm on the floor.

Unconscious minions scattered around.

SG1 zatting stray minions as they progressed through the compound.

And a former host worshiping the ground Xander walked on.

Xander looked annoyed as SG1 just snickered.

The host was shuffled off to the SGC to see if he could be trained to fit in with modern day society, if nothing else Xander's people would take him in.

Xander headed back to Sunnydale whilst SG1 headed back to base after clearing up things with the ATF.

Faith was clearly nervous about patrolling. Mostly due to Kakistos. A little was due to being left alone with Xander. She was still a little scared of the armoured figure.

Xander took Faith on a patrol route that would allow him to introduce her to the Jaffa squad currently assigned to Sunnydale.

The Jaffa were quick to assure the young Slayer that there was no place safer in battle than by Lord Xander's side.

Once they moved off on their patrol, Faith asked something that had been bothering her.

"Why 'Lord Xander'?"

Xander rolled his eyes and smiled.

"It's not actually my official title. Officially I am just 'Champion of Gaia' or 'Champion of the Universe'. But, well, you remember how we told you the Goa'uld make themselves out to be gods? They also tend to live luxurious lives and demand pretty titles and such.

"When I defeated one of those Goa'ulds, I managed to convince the Jaffa serving them that they were serving a tiny worm.

"Unfortunately they are a little bit awed and took to calling me 'Lord Xander', in the end I gave up trying to stop them. I also find it useful when intimidating the Goa'uld and intimidating people who get too big for their boots and start messing with my people." He grinned.

"So your not a real Lord?" She asked.

"Actually he is." Gaia said startling Faith as she appeared beside her.

"You'll get used to that." Xander assured her.

Faith nodded, not really believing. She turned to Gaia. "Why?"

"For starters, his title was given to him by the Jaffa out of respect, not fear. He doesn't demand the title, he often tells people to just call him Xander.

"The US government lists him as Lord Xander. Although he didn't know that, he just thought it was people meeting him and copying others. He's never actually read his diplomatic papers." She said smugly.

"What! They put that on there?" He asked incredulously.

"Yep, but the real reason he's a Lord, is because the Creator has decreed it. Heaven has a soft spot for Xander, Hades keeps a close eye on him, the Heavenly Host have accepted him among their number and God keeps popping in to say hi, or drags him up there."

"Really?" They both asked in awe.

Gaia just laughed. "Yes really. He is fully entitled to call himself 'Lord Xander'."

"At least it's better than 'Animal'." He sighed. "Not to mention it doesn't make me sound like the comic book hero that 'Champion of the Universe' does."

Faith burst out laughing. "I wondered why it sounded so weird."

"Xander, I believe Kakistos is approaching." Delta reported scaring Faith to a deathly white.

"Don't worry Faith, earlier today I defeated a false god and his army, they shot at me with bullets and ray guns. And look at me now, not a scratch. This little demon won't be a problem."

The truth was Xander hated saying things like that. They usually meant the universe was gonna bite him on the butt. Fortunately for him the universe needed him.

Kakistos lumbered into view, flanked by a black vampire in a hideous purple suit and backed up by a dozen vampires.

"Faith, I've been looking for you." Kakistos said smugly. "We have unfinished business."

"Faith, you were right. He is butt ugly." Xander said grimacing.

Faith just looked at him in betrayal, but Gaia just squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"Maybe I will kill this boy like I did your Watcher and let you watch… again." He said.

"NOOOO!" She screamed as she cried.

"Ok, now you made my new friend cry. Let's get this over with." Xander said angrily.

The next thing Kakistos knew there were blasts of fire hitting each of his minions, leaving only himself and the purple clad monstrosity.

Who quickly vanished leaving a trail of dust as he ran.

"Thanks fella's!" Xander called out to the Jaffa squad that had been trailing them.

Xander marched up to Kakistos who threw a wide punch. He clearly relied on brute strength as opposed to skill.

Xander caught the cloven hand easily, kicked out at the knees crippling the hulking vampire as it cried out in pain.

Pulling out his sword that was currently strapped to a sheath under his back in the form of a knife, he embedded it in the vampires spine, causing him to tumble to the ground, paralysed.

"Ok, guys you can come out now." Xander called out.

Faith was shocked to see the Scoobies, Giles and Ms Calendar, not to mention the Jaffa walk out of the darkness. But most of her attention was still on the fallen vampire.

"Aren't you gonna kill him?" She asked, eyes wide with fear.

"Nope. You are." Xander said. "You bring it?" He asked Buffy.

"One sword as requested." Buffy said producing a simple double edged sword.

"Some times stakes don't do the job, so it's best to apply the Jaws methodology to the problem." Xander told her as she took the sword.

"Huh?" She asked in confusion.

"You need a bigger boat?" He suggested.

"Oh."

"He's all yours." Xander said as he stepped back.

Faith carefully approached the incapacitated vampire.

Kakistos' eyes widened as he realised his end was due.

"NO! You cannot do this to me!" He cried in fear.

Faith ignored him raising the sword. "This is for Alice." She said as she sliced his head off.

There was a soft thump as it hit the floor.

Then the body began to systematically disintegrate, leaving only the thick bones that pronounced him a true Master Vampire.

Xander carefully approached and took the sword from the trembling Slayer. Giles approached holding a pair of heavy mallets.

He wordlessly handed one to Faith, and they smashed the bones to dust.

When they were finished they were both crying, and Giles hugged Faith tightly. Silently vowing to take up where his sister left off.

Xander walked up and blessed the bones.

"In the name of my goddess Gaia and the Creator of all I bless these remains. May they become one with the earth again, never to be used for evil again."

Oz and Jenny silently began sweeping the remains up to be scattered at sea.

"You're a priest?" Faith asked with a sniff as Giles still held her.

"Apparently being the Champion to a goddess makes me a holy man." He shrugged. Then he got a silly grin. "If the school ever gets invaded by vamps, pull the fire alarm, I blessed the sprinklers."

Faith gave a tearful laugh.

Joyce took Faith and Buffy back home whilst Xander gave Jenny, Giles and Willow a lift home.

Oz and Xander decided to walk back to the mansion. Oz had moved in with the Jaffa. They seemed to get along quite well.

"I guess we need to make some time this week to see the Nox." Xander sighed.

"Might be an idea." Oz agreed.

"Do you think Anteaus will have changed?"

"Anything's possible." Oz said. "Just not very probable."

"Maybe Opher or Lya will take over." Xander said. "I still don't know what they are teaching me?"

"Have you told them that?" Oz asked.

"Anteaus just said 'That is because you are very young'." Xander said with a bad imitation. "Talk about a one track record."

They had just reached the street where the Mansion was when there was a bright flash of light and a naked body landed.

"Angelus!" Oz growled.

"Like hell!" Xander said marching forward and staking the vamp.

"What the hell was that about?" Xander demanded to no one.

"Maybe we should ask Giles or Gaia." Oz suggested only to have the vampire fall from another flash of light.

Which Xander promptly staked.

"That got old real fast." He declared. "Gaia!"

"What's up?" She asked. "Why so angry?"

And once again the body fell from a flash of light.

And Xander staked it.

"That's why." Xander growled.

"What is that about?" She wondered. "God didn't say anything about that."

Just as she was about to say she would find out the body re-appeared.

Just as Xander was about to stake it… again, a voice called out.

"Wait!" The owner a short man in a hat and bad fashion was marching towards them.

A quick check showed him to be a demon.

So Xander staked the vamp and turned to the demon.

"What do you want demon? Are you responsible for this?" Xander demanded.

"Me? I'm just a messenger. Names Whistler. I work for the Powers That Be." He said.

"The guys who are supposed to be fighting against demons as penance for their betrayal of God are trying to bring back one of the worst vamps in history?" Xander asked in disbelief.

At which point said vamp re-appeared.

And Xander staked him.

"Would you _please_ stop staking him!" Whistler pleaded.

"That would be a solid 'no'." Xander said in disbelief.

"Look, he's got his soul back, they re-cursed him. But he's needed in their plans." Whistler pleaded.

"They cursed him? With the whole happiness clause as well?" Oz asked with a frown.

"Well, yeah." Whistler shrugged as if there was another way.

The vamp re-appeared.

And Oz staked him.

"Not good enough." Oz said.

"Agreed." Gaia said.

"But they need him!" Whistler whined.

Once again the body appeared and this time Gaia grabbed Xander's stake staked it.

"They have no right to re-introduce a demon to my domain. Soul or not." She declared.

"She's right." A firm male voice said.

They turned to see God and the Metatron standing there.

Xander and Oz dropped to their knees.

God walked over and with a calm face lifted them to their feet and gave them a small nod.

"They are pushing their boundaries. They walk dangerous paths." The Metatron said clearly speaking the words of God as he seemed to meld with the background not taking the spotlight. "Furthermore it is an insult to my daughter." He said as God laid a hand on Gaia's shoulder.

"Bu-bu-bu-b-but they need their Champion!" The terrified demon cried.

At this point Xander realised that the demon was still on his feet. This enraged him.

"Have you no respect!" He demanded shoving the demon to his knees. "This is the most holy of beings and you should be grateful you still live. You should have been on your knees in front of the Lady Gaia, but to not do so in front of the Almighty is abominable."

Xander slowly backed away and knelt again. "I am sorry my Lord, his disrespect angers me." Xander said sadly.

God walked over and gently lifted him to his feet. She gave him a soft smile.

"It is the duty of the Host to ensure that the Almighty is respected. You did well Xander." Michael said appearing next to him with a hand on his shoulder.

Whistler was at this point trying not to soil himself.

"We will allow the Fallen their Champion. But he will have his soul permanently fixed, and he will be human." The Metatron declared. "He will also serve under Lord Xander."

One would think Whistler would accept what he got and run like hell, but he didn't.

"But he won't have the strength of a vampire! He will be weak." Whistler argued.

Xander and Oz both growled at his offensive attitude, but a slight hand movement from God and they ceased.

"Lord Xander fought for over a year as a human. Rupert Giles for most of his adult life. There have been many humans who have served successfully. Your words only show your bias against them. If he is truly worthy of being their Champion, he will not have difficulty doing so as a human."

God gave Oz and Xander a sweet smile before she and the Metatron vanished leaving a naked human in their place.

"Be gone demon. Your mission is fulfilled." Michael said waving his hand as the demon vanished.

"You did well Xander. We must always remember our place. But also remind those around us of theirs. Especially in Her presence." Michael said. "But now you have a new challenge. You must learn to work with someone you hate. But you must not abuse your position of authority."

Xander knew what he was saying. He couldn't treat him like dirt. Just another fighter for the cause.

"I understand."

"Unfortunately, he has been plucked from a hell dimension. So he may not be quite right in the head. I suggest you tie him up for a bit." Michael said as he vanished.

Which was right as Angel woke up.

Oz conked him on the back of the head, knocking him out. Gaia and Xander stared at him.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with him." He shrugged.

"This is going to be a long night." Xander sighed.

"We need to tell Buffy and Jenny." Oz said.

"Yeah, we also need a place to stash him till he gets back on his feet." Xander mused.

"Ask George to lock him up and have the docs look at him. You can then call the Scoobies together." Gaia said.

"Ok, sounds like a plan."

"You handle him. I'll gather the Scoobies at Joyce and Buffy's." Oz said as he wondered off to arrange transports and wake the gang.

"He's pretty pissed." Xander remarked.

"We all are. Even God." Gaia reminded him.

"As soon as he is able I will send him elsewhere to fulfil his duties. He has no need or right to be around this place or the Scoobies." Xander said determinedly.

"His assignments are at your discretion, although he may receive orders from the Fallen."

"I assume that 'The Powers That Be' is the name they gave themselves?" Xander asked wryly.

"Yes, they are considered quite the joke in heaven. And in Hades' realm." Gaia smirked.

"They're well on their way to achieving that here as well." Xander agreed.

It was with a look of disgust that Angel was accepted into the care of the SGC by Janet and George. They knew what he had done, he was responsible for Xander's previous exile.

They agreed to keep him locked up till he recovered.

It was a tired Xander and Gaia that met with a sleepy Scooby Gang that night. Only Oz, Xander and Gaia were not in their sleep wear.

"Oz you told them anything?" Xander asked.

"Figured it was your place." The werewolf shook his head.

Xander just nodded at the dismal truth of the matter.

"Listen very closely to my words." He said staring each of them in the eye. "_Angel_ has been returned to Earth as a human."

There was a deathly hush. Jenny and Buffy sank deeper into the embrace of their paramours.

"This is due to the Fallen, who call themselves the Powers That Be. They have declared him their Champion." Xander continued. "Oz and I were returning to the Mansion when he kept appearing as a vampire in a flash of light. Needless to say we just kept staking him until we called Gaia.

"A demon representative of theirs turned up to complain about us staking a vamp. God arrived and declared that they had no right to insert a vampire into Gaia's realm, but she affixed his soul permanently and made him human."

Still no one said anything.

"He has been placed under my direct command. He is also feral as he has been in a hell dimension. As soon as he is… better, I will send him elsewhere to fulfil his duties. He will not be allowed to return to Sunnydale. He will not be allowed to approach my friends or family."

"None of us are happy about this. God included. But sometimes these things have to happen. Fortunately we have control of this situation to a degree." Gaia added.

"Where is he now?" Giles asked quietly.

"At the SGC in a cell. George didn't really want him, but we want him well so we can send him away." Xander said.

"Xander has permission to send him anywhere that is not where you are." Gaia said trying to assure the two women who had nearly lost it all to Angelus.

"Joyce, do you mind if we all bunk here tonight?" Xander asked.

"Of course not. I think that would be a good idea." She agreed.

"Where ever he goes, he will be accompanied by a squad of Jaffa." Xander assured them.


	21. Chapter 21

Angel wasn't as out of his mind as they first thought. He was lucid, if a bit ragged by the following morning.

Xander dropped in at the SGC, he was invited to a ceremony that evening where the President had been due to address the SGC, but was unable to attend so the Secretary of Defence would take his place. A recognition for the recent rescue of SG1 from Hathor.

Xander along with Janet and Jack visited Angel.

"You know why you're back here?" Xander demanded.

"Champion for the Powers That Be." He said snidely as he sat in the corner.

"They are called the 'Fallen'. They are the angels of heaven that betrayed their calling and turned on the Almighty. You will use their real name." Xander ordered. "Speaking of real names. What was your birth name?"

"What?" Angel asked in confusion.

"The name you were given when you were born. As a human before you were turned." Xander said in annoyance.

"Liam." He replied.

"Fine, then from now on you will be addressed as Liam." Xander declared.

"My name is Angel." He asserted mildly.

"No, it is not. I know some Angels, you sully their name with its use. You will retain your human name." Xander said angrily.

Jack couldn't agree more. He had been in the presence of two angels, a goddess, a god and the Almighty. This pathetic excuse for a lifeform didn't deserve that type of honour.

"Get on your feet." Jack said finally snapping. The newly returned human was sitting on his bunk moping. He was showing no respect for his superior or even for the fact that there was a woman in the room.

Jack was no chauvinist but it was clear that this pitiful human had no respect for them.

Liam tried to fight back, but he was no match for a seasoned soldier like Jack.

"Lord Xander, I believe it would serve him well if he began physical training today." Jack said. He was damned sure that this fool would learn to show some respect.

"As long as the good doctor supervises I agree." He turned to Janet. "He requires training and conditioning if he is to fulfil his role as a Champion. He has no experience of doing anything like this in a human body. I would ask that until you are happy he has recovered from his stint in a hell dimension, you monitor his condition."

"Of course Lord Xander." She responded formally.

"I want to see Buffy." Liam demanded.

"That is one thing that you are likely to never do." Xander said his eyes narrowing. Liam was beginning to push him too far.

"That's her choice, let her decide if she wants to see me."

"She already has decided. She has said that she never wants to see you again." Xander said. "If I find you looking for her, in the same city as her, I will consider your service as a Champion failed. I will send you to a place so far away that you might never see another human again."

After that Xander stormed out of the cell and teleported to the most remote place he could think of.

* * *

The deserts of Abydos were not were he landed.

Instead he found himself in the white space that he had been in when he died.

"A lot of anger Xander." He heard a familiar voice.

Sure enough there was God walking towards him.

"I bet you never thought this would be one of the hardest things you would have to do."

"He doesn't seem to care about what he's done. He only cares about himself." Xander moaned.

"I know. There is always a chance he will change. You have two hundred and twenty something years of being a vampire to over come."

Xander frowned. That sounded familiar.

"The Tok'ra!" He said snapping his fingers. "They know what its like to deal with that sort of thing, they used to be Goa'ulds."

God smiled.

"You can only try. You don't know everything and I realise that. It's why I don't expect you to get everything right the first time round." She gave his cheek a kiss. "You head off to school. Gaia will let Jack know you're ok." She said as he vanished from her presence.

* * *

"What's with the goofy look?" Faith asked Willow who was helping her get her books from the library as Xander appeared.

"Hmm, that level of goofiness, I'd say he just came back from meeting the Almighty." Willow said with wistful smile. "And she kissed his cheek again."

Faith's mouth was hanging wide open.

"You're telling me he went up to heaven, spoke with God and came back just to go to school?" She asked in disbelief.

Willow opened and closed her mouth several times trying to find an answer. She had never thought about it like that.

In the end she just shrugged. "I guess. Come on, we need to snap him out of it. I swear she does this on purpose to tease him." She giggled.

"Do you think I'll meet God?" Faith asked somewhat timidly.

"Hang around Xander enough and you will." She smiled. "If you see everyone drop to their knees and bow their heads… do the same. Chances are God just arrived."

"Yeah, Xander said the same thing." She agreed.

"Xander?" Willow said shaking his shoulder. "Time for school." She cooed.

"Huh? Wills?" He said dreamily.

"Wow, he's like he's on drugs." Faith remarked.

"Guys is Xander… here?" Buffy trailed off as she saw Willow trying to rouse the object of her search. "God kiss him again?" She asked smirking as Oz chuckled.

"Seems like. He just popped in." Willow said.

"Hey Xan! Snap to!" Buffy said slapping him on the back of the head.

"OW!" Xander said rubbing his head. "Jeeze Buff, I was having such a nice time."

"Been playing kiss chase with the Almighty again?" She teased.

Xander just stuck his tongue out at her.

"Nice come back Xan." She grinned. "Oz smelt something nasty around school. Seems a boyfriend of one his friends is messing with something demon-y… or is demon-y."

"Damn." Xander said. "Can you guys handle it? I have this ceremony at the SGC I've been invited too."

"No problem. It's likely a human messing with bad stuff so we might have to call in the Jaffa and get him sent to the SGC for lock up." Oz noted.

"Ok, their all set to handle that sort of thing anyway." Xander said.

Lunchtime saw the Scooby gang assembled in the library with Faith in attendance for her first official meeting.

"I understand there is a student meddling in things he shouldn't?" Giles began.

"Huh?" Faith asked.

"He means the student who Oz says doesn't smell right." Willow offered.

"Ah!" Xander said.

Everyone looked at him.

"What? Not my fault he practically speaks in code. And I'm supposed to be able to understand anyone!" He whined.

Everyone but Giles just laughed at him.

Giles glared at him but continued. "I believe Xander is at the Mountain this evening so as this is likely a human student, we will follow Oz's lead."

"Erm, how come?" Faith asked in innocent curiosity.

"Slayers are not made to handle human threats. The Council has special teams to deal with them. But I am reluctant to talk to the Council as yet."

Faith nodded in understanding.

"Which brings us to our next point. The Council. I was hoping Xander or Oz might have an idea what to do. I for one am still aiming to go in and kill them all." Giles said with a deceptive calm.

Xander and Oz exchanged a shrug.

"What sort of organization are they? Financially, politically, socially?" Oz asked.

"They are very old. They have been around many thousands of years since the first Slayer. They tend to kill off the public front only to create a new one, much like a phoenix. They are only as powerful as the front they create.

"The current incarnation has been around since the middle ages. They have stayed because they have strong political connections; the British Empire gave them a strong base to work with. They are one of the richest organizations in the world. Think Microsoft."

"Do they have to answer to any higher authorities, governments, gods, or a set of pre-defined rules?" Xander asked.

"The Royal family is the head of the Council. They do not run the day to day business, but they are the moral head with the authority to bring down any member of the Council if not the whole Council."

Xander and Oz exchanged another look.

"Are they mind readers?" Faith asked trying to figure out Xander and Oz.

"No, but I think they have learnt to work so well together that they don't need words." Buffy said.

"Being trapped in a small ship with only each other for a few weeks tends to either drive you to murder or give you a deeper understanding of each other." Oz offered.

Xander smirked. "Oz isn't big with the words. I talk too much. We quickly found a balance."

Xander turned back to a chuckling Giles. "Ok, we're gonna need to know everything you know about the Council. And I do mean _everything_, as in secrets, codes, skeletons, the works. If we do this right, and the evidence shows it's necessary, then we may be able to approach the Queen and have the Council cleaned out and put under a slightly more open microscope.

"Oz and I are going to be around for a long time. Might as well start making use of that fact."

"Long time?" Faith asked.

"Both are basically Immortal, they can both be killed but they could also live forever. Oz is a little harder to kill." Buffy said a little sadly and Oz squeezed her hand as they both knew he would likely out live her.

"You should know." Cordelia smirked causing Buffy to blush.

"Wasn't a bad thing, got us together." Oz said pulling Buffy into his lap.

"Yes, well, I will get the information to you." Giles said. "You should know that if anyone finds out I am doing this they could very well attempt to kill me. Or any of us."

"Cool, even more ammo when they attack a diplomat. One that can literally blow them off the face of the planet." Xander said rubbing his hands together gleefully.

"Try not to damage my homeland too much Xander." Giles said pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Seriously though, if you get a hint of trouble let me know, I'll shift everyone off world or at least to the SGC." Xander said dropping his goofy face.

"Of course. Is that everything then?" Giles asked.

"Just so you know. I went to the Mountain to see the former vamp. He is no longer to be referred to as 'Angel'. Most of us have met a real angel and I don't want him sullying their name with it. His real name is Liam, we will all call him that.

"I'm afraid that he was a bit demanding, he kept asking to see Buffy." He said looking at the blond slayer. "I told him 'like hell'. I think he pissed Jack off as well."

Buffy released the breath she hadn't known she was holding.

"As some of you know, I had a talk with God this morning. I got a little upset after dealing with Liam, I was heading off to the Abydos desert to vent in safety, but God redirected me and calmed me down."

"I'll say." Buffy quipped.

"As I was saying." Xander said glaring at Buffy. "She reminded me that Liam has the memories of spending two hundred and twenty something years as an evil vamp. This made me realise that we know some people who had a similar problem. The Tok'ra."

"Personally I thought the Nox was more fitting." Oz said with a small smile.

"Yeah, but we want him to improve, not develop an additional complex." Xander retorted with a grin. "But, I will speak with one of them tonight and set things in motion." Xander said.

That said the meeting concluded and they headed off for a bite to eat and their next class.

* * *

Xander arrived at the Summers' home to find Joyce and Sha're waiting expectantly for him.

"What are you wearing tonight Xander?" Sha're asked.

"I…erm… what?" He asked in confusion.

"Xander, it's a formal event, you have to dress appropriately." Joyce lightly scolded.

"Define 'appropriately'." Xander said paling. This caused both women to snicker.

"We realised that you represent your own people. Sha're would normally dress in garb appropriate for her people. As would I. But both she and Teal'c are wearing Earth clothes, so I think a simple suit would do for you." Joyce said.

"We've only got a few hours and I don't have a suit." Xander protested.

"Yes, but you're rich, can be transported anywhere in the world at the drop of a hat, and have access to some of the finest retailers in the universe." Joyce said gleefully.

To say Xander was scared was an understatement. Two women wanting to take him shopping. He still had nightmares about when Cordelia had taken him shopping after Halloween.

"What's up?" Gaia said appearing in the room very excited. "I felt Xander was terrified and it seemed to have something to do with shopping."

Xander wanted to cry.

"Xander has a ceremony at the SGC to attend. Sha're and I are both attending, but Xander needs better clothes. I don't think his armour will cut it." Joyce explained.

"REALLY!" She squealed excitedly. "We need to get Cordelia! You saw what she did to his wardrobe when he became a Spartan."

"Of course!" Joyce said. "I'll just go and call her."

"Have you no mercy?" Xander pleaded with the goddess.

"Aw, come on, it's just a shopping trip." She said giving him a side hug.

"Fine, but you can come with me to the event. Don't see why I should suffer alone." He groused.

Gaia's face lit up. "It's a date!" She said enthusiastically.

"You want to go?" He asked incredulously. "It's a boring ceremony. Long speeches, lots of hand shaking!"

"One day you'll understand Xander." Sha're said mysteriously.

"All women are nuts." Xander decided.

The women took pity on Xander and had him sorted in an hour. This may have had a lot to do with Xander offering them his credit card and saying they could go nuts.

To be honest, Xander was glad Cordelia was there, he wanted to make it up to her for helping him out at Halloween.

Xander left the ladies to their shopping and headed off to the SGC to speak with the Tok'ra about Liam.

"Garshaw would be ideal." Selmak agreed. "She is due to stand down as head of the Council. She is also not a Tok'ra as we are. We are born of a queen that moulded us through our genetic memories. She was a Goa'uld who decided to actually fight with us."

"Even better. I'll try and get by to see her within the week. Let her know if you see her?"

That sorted the issue of Liam out. Next up the ceremony.

* * *

Fortunately the ceremony was light on speeches. Arthur Simms, the Secretary of Defence was excited to meet Xander and Gaia, not to mention the three kids, Nicky, Jordy and Charlie, each of who were attending.

"If we ever needed proof that the Stargate project does good work, these kids are it. Not to mention yourself Mrs Jackson." He said with a slight bow to Sha're. "I hate to think how Earth would be if you hadn't turned up Lord Xander. Several times we almost lost good people. We actually have a copy of your 'Rescue Board' in the Joint Chiefs Situation Room, we don't bother betting on who will have to be rescued the most each year, we just bet on who will come second." He grinned causing them to laugh.

"It's good to know that there is humour and fun in the military." Joyce noted. "Too often it seems that it is all about defence or attack."

"Agreed." Arthur said. "Hopefully we will be able to put more people on rotation through the ships and Stargate, more of our people could do with exploring."

"How is the ship building going?" Xander asked.

"You haven't heard?" Arthur asked in surprise. "The first Pelicans have been built. A fleet of five to test and improve on. We were hoping you and SG1 could be there for initial test flights, especially with your family as they are experienced with you technology."

"Glad to hear it, and of course we would love to be there. Barring catastrophe of cause." Xander said.

Their little gathering broke up as the ceremony began. Xander was pleased that the SGC was being so highly praised. Arthur seemed like a huge fan of their work. He also had a welcome surprise.

"Some of you will know that we have just finished building the new Pelican Dropships whose plans were provided for by Lord Xander." He said indicating the Champion trying to be inconspicuous. "It could be another year before they are ready for active deployment. But I am pleased to announce that as of today a shipment of ODST armour is being delivered. Over the course of the next month, you will be trained in it and as soon as you qualify, you will be going through that wonder," he pointed to the Stargate, "with ODST armour as standard.

"Our scientists, who have been working with the Jaffa and Tok'ra managed to come up with our own version of a drop-pod.

"Hopefully Lord Xander will be able to check them out for us and tell us if they'll work?" He asked.

"I'd be honoured. I am amazed and impressed by your ingenuity." Xander said with a slight bow.

At the rate they were going the SGC would soon be ready for the plans for cruisers and Scorpion tanks.

"If you're going this well, might I suggest building Warthogs and Mongooses?" Xander said.

"You mean like a puma?" Jack asked.

"Shut up Jack." Xander smiled as many of those present laughed as they had seen the show.

"The fact of the matter is that these people have to cover a great deal of terrain. These high speed cross terrain vehicles are excellent for delivering medical aid and reinforcements in a hurry." Xander continued.

"A great idea. I'll bring it up with the President as soon as I see him. General please do the same in case I get swamped." Arthur said.

At this point Arthur stood down and a surprised Captain Carter was promoted to Major Carter.

Jack stood up to give a speech.

"Normally, I am a man of few words…" And he promptly vanished in a flash of light.

"I take it back, these ceremonies are very exciting." Xander said to Gaia.

Gaia elbowed him in the ribs. "Just go and find him." She said as General Hammond put the base on alert.

Xander vanished off to find Jack.

He was surprised to find him in orbit around the planet.

"What's up Jack? Hate giving speeches that much?" Xander grinned.

"I hope you've got your sword." Jack said.

"And a back pack full of ammo." He assured him.

There was a flash of light and they found themselves face to face with…

"Thor?" Xander exclaimed. "What's with the kidnapping."

"I apologise to you both. I was in a hurry to reach you." He apologised.

"You know we do have a way of communicating." Xander said tapping his watch.

"Unfortunately our communication relays were destroyed by an enemy in our galaxy. Part of my mission to Earth was to re-seed the area with more satellites."

"Oh, ok." Xander shrugged.

"So what's the big rush?" Jack asked.

"The System Lords have turned their attention on Earth after your defeat of Hathor." Thor informed them.

"Ok, so they come, we squash them, we party at the Bronze." Xander shrugged, not seeing the big deal.

"They are capable of launching a combined attack one hundred times more powerful than the previous one Apophis launched." Thor warned.

"That's bad." Jack said.

"Define 'bad'."

"At least two hundred ships."

"Good definition."

"We have come to offer assistance." Thor said.

"Now see, that would be appreciated. I've seen your work… it's great." Jack enthused.

"The vast majority of the fleet is unavailable."

"What about if we bolstered what you had with some of my ships?" Xander asked.

"It would result in many lives lost, and may still cost the war." Thor said.

"So what's the plan?" Jack asked.

"With your permission the Asgard would like to negotiate with the System Lords to include Earth in the Protected Planets Treaty."

"Is that good?" Jack asked.

"It would prevent this attack."

"That's good." Xander noted.

"Ok, so we negotiate and hopefully they leave us alone." Jack said.

"I will contact the System Lords. You may return to your planet now." Thor said as he vanished.

"Did he seem a bit harried to you?" Jack asked.

"Just a bit." Xander agreed as they vanished in a flash of light.

* * *

Four days.

That was how long they had until the System Lord representatives arrived.

The Tok'ra were working with the SGC to find as many loop holes as possible in these proceedings.

So far they had several ways for inserting not only Xander, but the Tok'ra as well into the meetings on a legitimate basis.

Jack was grouchy as he had apparently been chosen by the Asgard to represent Earth.

* * *

Back home in Sunnydale some guy named Pete wound up dead as he thought he had dosed himself enough to take on Oz.

He apparently thought Oz was making moves on his girlfriend, Debbie. Needless to say that his sense of reason had taken a vacation.

Homecoming was fast approaching. Cordelia was looking to run for Homecoming Queen. Xander was quite shocked when she approached him with a request.

"I want you to help Faith to run for Homecoming Queen."

"What!" He exclaimed.

"Homecoming Queen. You know beautiful dresses, dancing, crowns, cute boys."

"And why would she want that?" Xander asked, then realised it was dumb question. "Let me rephrase that, why would she want to run against you?"

"She's got the looks, she's opening up more. I think she needs to get into the school thing. Buffy is running too."

"Poor Oz." Xander muttered.

"Please." She said with a dismissive wave. "Running with Buffy, he's a shoe in for King. He's the coolest guy in school."

"But Faith doesn't have the experience of these things. You're Queen of Sunnydale High, Buff was Queen of Hemry. Faith dropped out without looking back!"

"Exactly. All I'm asking is that you support her on the financial side. Be her backer. The three of us will plan campaign strategies together in private."

"You don't mind if you lose?" He asked in disbelief.

"Of course I mind doofus!" She said slapping his shoulder.

"Ow."

"It'll be more of a challenge if I have decent competition. Besides, any of us can beat those other two…'contestants'." She said.

"And Faith agreed to this?" He asked doubtingly.

"Well, not yet. But she will!" Cordelia defended. "Willow will help too. They seem to be hitting off well."

"Yeah, I feel guilty about not spending more time with her." Xander said sadly. "All you want from me is money?"

"And some emotional support." Cordelia said.

"Fine, as long as Faith agrees and she isn't pressured into it." Xander relented.

Faith was far from agreeable at first. It wasn't the socialising, it was the prospect of having to wear dresses and change her style.

But Buffy and Cordelia assured her that they would only change her style slightly. They wanted to each portray a different style.

Xander decided to do the smart male thing.

He hid out at the SGC.

Charlie, Nicky and Jordy were happy to see him.

Joyce, Sha're and Gaia just teased him.

Until Giles and Jenny turned up for the same reason.

"It can't be that bad?" Joyce argued.

"Joyce, its like they have split personalities." Jenny explained. "In the library, during their 'planning sessions', they are the best of friends. Out in the public, it's a total… you-know-what fest." She said quickly compensating for young ears.

"I for one will be most pleased when this ridiculous phase is over. We never had these things in England." Giles said sipping his tea.

"So, we're all here, the girls are back home… what about Oz?" Xander asked.

"He ran." The man in question remarked as he slumped down next to Xander. "Joyce, I love your daughter, but she is insane."

Joyce just laughed. "I do recall how she was in LA."

"As you'll likely need an excuse, or face the wrath of Buffy, wanna play my aide at the negotiations?" Xander offered.

"Sure, you're not going, Gaia?"

"Not if I can help it. I hate those worms, the Tok'ra are different. Garshaw is different. Sure it's a bit of work overcoming instinct, but the Goa'uld… can't stand them." Gaia shuddered. "Unless it's to watch Xander squash them." She grinned wistfully.

"So, who wants to help me come and sort out handing Liam to Garshaw?" Xander asked.

Giles and Oz both opted to come, but the ladies decided to enjoy sometime with the kids. And gossiping. Which was the main reason Giles went along.

They were heading down the corridors of the SGC to the holding rooms when they came across George, Jack and Teal'c in a bit of a dispute.

"What's the what guys?" Xander asked.

"The rules from the Asgard are very clear. No weapons are permitted at the talks." George said tiredly.

"Oh, and I guess you don't want to be unarmed?" Xander asked the frowning Jaffa.

"I do not. The Goa'uld are not to be trusted."

"Teal'c, send the weapon to the Gate Ship. For every weapon they bring I will demand one weapon for one person. Starting with you and your Staff." Xander said. "Besides, a word from me and there will be a couple of worms wriggling on the floor for you to squash." He shrugged.

Teal'c couldn't resist a grin and handed his Staff over.

"What about your sword?" Jack asked.

"For starters, I have a much higher authority ordering me not to be with out it. But I can't see there being a problem with me carrying around some nail clippers." He said producing said clippers and causing them to gape at him.

"What? They have blades. I could turn them into a pair of scissors." He offered.

George just chuckled. "I take it you were off to free us from our guest?" He asked.

"Yeah, Garshaw said she'd deal with him." Xander explained. "He been causing problems?"

"Keeps demanding to speak to Buffy and be released." Jack said angrily.

Oz started growling.

"Easy Oz. He dies before he gets near Buffy." Xander declared.

"Won't that be against the rules?" Jack asked.

"What would you do to someone who was a threat to a civilian? Who was essentially a soldier and committed statutory rape?" Xander asked.

"Right. Forget I asked." Jack said steaming.

"Colonel, would you accompany these gentlemen and ensure a smooth transition." The General requested.

"Of course sir. Doctor Frasier cleared him already so I won't involve her."

"Carry on."

"What do you want boy?" Liam asked belligerently.

"On your feet Liam, we're going to take you to your new mentor." Xander said ignoring the jibe.

"I'm not going anywhere till I see BUFFY!" He screamed.

Liam suddenly found himself sprawled out against the back of his cell, his jaw aching.

Giles was rubbing his knuckles.

"This is Oz, he is Buffy's boyfriend. When I was exiled because of your return, I left him two simple orders. Protect Buffy and destroy you." Xander said neatly ignoring Giles' outburst. "He succeeded on both counts."

"If you fail to improve your attitude then I'm afraid you won't be able to serve as a Champion. We will consider you a lost cause. We will exile you or execute you. I'll have to seek the advice of a higher power on that one." Xander said.

"There is no where you can send me that I can't return from." Liam sneered as he rose to his feet.

Giles and Jack just chuckled.

"Time for your first lesson I think, just how much power Xander has in this Universe." Jack said.

A quick nod to Oz and he had Liam secured in his hands in front of Xander. Xander placed a hand on one of Oz and Liam's shoulders as Jack and Giles' grabbed hold of Xander's shoulders and Liam found himself in a strange crystal tunnel.

"You are now on another planet." Xander said as Oz released him. "There are many planets and some of them are remote enough that we could leave you on one and never have to worry about you again."

Liam was beginning to realise the amount of power Xander had. He'd known about his armour. Seen first hand how he took out the Judge.

He'd even seen his military allies.

But he never realised that they had access to resources and locations such as this.

"Let's go Liam." Xander said as he marched off searching for Garshaw's scent.

Oz took up the rear to make sure Liam behaved.

They found Garshaw in discussion with Martouf.

Garshaw having been told of this human's attitude and history decided to play things formally.

"Lord Xander, it is good to see you again." She said with a bow that was returned by Xander.

"You too Garshaw, and you Martouf." Xander said. "This is Liam, the recently returned human I told you about."

"Indeed. We are only too happy to help where we can Lord Xander." Garshaw said.

"And that help is greatly appreciated." Xander smiled. "Unfortunately, his attitude is not right. I fear he may be beyond hope. But the Tok'ra and yourself especially Garshaw are the best hope we have. Especially with the former Goa'uld hosts. I have contacted Ba'rum, he is travelling here as well to help lend some insight."

"Geoffrey Chesterson also offered to help when I explained the situation." Jack said.

"Who?" Xander asked in confusion.

"The guy who was host to Seth. He was taken as a host back in England about 300 years ago." Jack explained.

"Oh, cool." Xander said. "Looks like you have plenty of help coming. Please do call if you require anything with this matter."

Xander turned away to leave, but then stopped.

"For the record, I am authorising any methods you deem appropriate, including a temporary blending if you believe it would help. He is supposed to be a Champion of one of the good guys." Xander said sadly.

Garshaw and Martouf were shocked. As was Jack.

"We understand. Hopefully it will not come to that, it would not be pleasant for either party." Garshaw said.

Xander nodded, and they returned to the SGC, leaving Liam in the hands of the Tok'ra.

"You think blending might be worth it?" Jack asked, he was very uncomfortable with the idea.

"No idea. Garshaw would be best as she actually _was_ a Goa'uld. But, well… let's just hope it doesn't come to that."


	22. Chapter 22

Faith found herself enjoying the Homecoming Campaign. She never really had friends before. She had bummed her way across America to reach Sunnydale using her feminine wiles, until a Good Samaritan spotted her and put her on a bus to wherever she wanted. She had asked the guys if the AI's could track him down so she could pay him back and thank him.

Something that Buffy was only too happy to have Beta do.

Willow was her assistant in the halls when meeting people. Making sure she knew names and faces. Likes and dislikes. And which girls where skanks and which boys didn't deserve more attention than a kick in the nuts. Behind closed doors the five girls were indulging in sleepovers and planning sessions.

As a result Xander took to avoiding the Summers House and staying at the SGC or the Mansion with the Jaffa. Either place brought much teasing from the resident males. Right up until he threatened to lock them in the room with the five girls.

Often Gaia would be in attendance at those meetings. The guys were feeling out numbered as Jenny, Joyce and Sha're used chaperoning as an excuse to join in. They used Sha're as another excuse, they claimed they wanted to introduce her to more American activities. They declined Jack's offer to take them to a hockey match.

This meant that Sunnydale was in the hands of the guys whilst the girls had their fun.

The day came for the arrival of the System Lords.

General Hammond, Colonel O'Neill, Doctor Jackson, Oz and Lord Xander stood at the bottom of the ramp on the gate ship awaiting their arrival.

The gate soon dialled in and Nirrti, Cronus and Yu stepped through.

"Welcome to the SGC Gate Ship. I'm General Hammond, this is Colonel O'Neill-"

"We do not care for your names." Cronus said dismissively. "Show us to our accommodations until the meetings are due to begin."

"First we must ask that you relinquish all your weaponry in accordance with the rules." General Hammond said trying to squash his anger.

Cronus went bright red and his companions were not far behind.

"You would dare accuse us of treachery!" He demanded.

Jack and Xander just looked at each other and shrugged.

"Yes." They said in unison.

"It is an outrage! There will be no talks. Send us home." Cronus said in outrage.

"Stop." Xander commanded.

"Turn around and face me."

The three Goa'uld turned clearly stunned that they could not disobey.

"If you had been polite enough to listen, you would have heard General Hammond introduce Colonel O'Neill, Doctor Jackson, Oz and myself; Lord Xander."

Needless to say the fear radiating off the would-be gods was palpable.

"Now then, do you have weaponry or devices in violation of the rules of these negotiations?" Xander asked imposing his command.

"We do." They answered together.

General Hammond signalled an Airman standing by who approached with a trolley.

"Disarm yourselves and place the items in violation on the flat surface." Xander ordered.

About ten minutes later, a lot of clanging and some objects removed from some rather… interesting places, a collection of thirty-three weapons sat on the trolley. They had to call for a second trolley.

"The Goa'uld have violated the terms, as such I, Lord Xander, declare that Master Teal'c of Chulak will have the right to bear his staff weapon and I will bear my sword. General Hammond will issue thirty-one weapons to his staff as he sees fit."

The fear and rage began to war on their faces. But the gate started to dial in.

"Don't worry, just more delegates of other… interested parties." Jack assured them.

"We were not informed of this and we do not agree to it." Nirrti declared. She was a bit ticked as she had to practically go naked to remove weapons from… certain areas.

"According to the rules they are entitled, and there was no requirement for you to be informed or a right for you to object." Daniel offered.

At this point Per'sus, Selmak and Martouf stepped through the gate.

"Greetings General Hammond. Martouf and myself you know already, but if I might introduce Per'sus, the new head of the Tok'ra Council." Selmak said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir." General said with a slight bow. "If I might introduce my second in command, Colonel Jack O'Neill and a member of his team, Doctor Daniel Jackson as well as Oz."

Small nods and bows were exchanged.

"I believe you at least know of the three other delegates, Nirrti, Cronus and Yu."

Per'sus inclined his head, but was a far cry from the bow he gave the others. The three Goa'uld didn't even deign to recognise him.

"And lastly, I'd like to introduce to you, Lord Xander." General Hammond said. "Defeater of Ammonet, Heru'ur and Hathor."

Per'sus' reaction was much different for Xander.

"It is a true honour to meet you Lord Xander. You have done much for my people and this galaxy." He said extending his hand.

Xander took the offered hand.

"The Tok'ra are good friends and allies. It is a pleasure to aid you in any way I can." Xander said.

"Can I ask you to relinquish your weapons in accordance with the terms?" General Hammond asked.

"Of course." Per'sus said handing over a Zat and a dagger. Selmak and Martouf likewise complying.

"You do not order them to do so?" Nirrti spat.

Xander shrugged. "If you'll indulge me?"

Per'sus nodded and Xander issued his command. "Tok'ra, I command you to relinquish any additional weapons or items that might be in violation of the terms."

The three Tok'ra just stood there.

They had admitted that they would normally secrete weapons on their bodies. But as Xander would see to it that the Goa'uld were unarmed, they felt they could trust him, the Zat gun and dagger were merely a symbolic gesture that they wished to comply.

Xander looked to the Goa'uld and shrugged.

General Hammond ordered the transport down to the ground base. Xander and Jack accompanied Daniel in settling the Goa'uld in whilst General Hammond and Oz dealt with the Tok'ra. It was a lot easier with Jacob able to help.

Unfortunately Yu and Nirrti objected to the security cameras and Teal'c tried his best to hold his temper. Fortunately Xander and Daniel were there.

Xander had to agree the camera's were a bit much. But it was again a ploy. Something obvious to give the Goa'uld something to complain about so they might ignore other things.

Unfortunately Cronus seemed intent on insulting Teal'c.

"Do not show your face to me again, shol'va." Cronus demanded.

"Teal'c is a member of this planet and this base. I suggest if you don't want to view his handsome face… you walk around with your eyes closed." Xander said dryly.

Needless to say Cronus rose to new heights of apoplexy.

Which kind of fizzled out when he realised he had no recourse and taking on Lord Xander was about as easy as lifting a mountain with your bare hands.

Xander walked Teal'c away from the impotent Goa'uld.

"What's with Cronus?" He asked.

"My father was once First Prime of Cronus. When I was but a child, Cronus commanded my father to attack a Goa'uld who was more powerful at the time. It was an impossible battle to win. When all was inevitably lost, Cronus killed my father as punishment and exiled my mother and I. We fled to Chulak. I vowed I would become the strongest Jaffa I could, so one day I could be named First Prime of Apophis, sworn enemy of Cronus." Teal'c retold the story.

"Well, I think you did one better." Xander said. "Now you are an example for all Jaffa who desire freedom."

* * *

Later that day the meetings began. Xander was sporting his sword strapped to his back. Jack was wearing a side arm in full view. This looked rather strange on his dress uniform. But he insisted.

"Can I ask why there are weapons at this meeting?" Thor asked.

"The Goa'uld attempted to smuggle thirty-three weapons into these meetings. I have therefore allowed the SGC to maintain a compliment of thirty-two weapons. The missing one being my sword." Xander said.

"I am authorised to offer to relinquish all weapons held by the SGC if the Tok'ra and Asgard wish it. We however requested that Lord Xander keep his weapon as it is… special and sacred." Jack offered formally.

"The Asgard would prefer it if the Taur'i did not have weapons." Thor said.

Jack looked to the Tok'ra.

"We do not mind either way, but as long as Lord Xander bears his sword, it might be best if the Taur'i were also unarmed." Per'sus said with a slight smile.

Jack smiled and nodded and then removed his weapon still in its holster.

Xander realised that Jack had just orchestrated another ploy. He'd have to congratulate him later.

Thor gave his greetings and thanks for the chance for peace.

A short argument between the Goa'uld in a language Jack couldn't understand and he had to ask.

"I thought we were all going to speak the same language here." He asked Thor.

This caused the Goa'uld to throw another hissy fit and attempted to storm out. A word of command from Xander and they were frozen by the door.

"What? What did I say?" Jack asked ignoring the three statues by the door.

Thor broke his stare from the intriguing sight by the door to answer Jack.

"You insulted them."

"I insulted them?" He said incredulously.

"By speaking out of turn. This was to be expected." Thor said sadly.

"Thor, can you understand what the Goa'uld were saying?" Xander asked.

"I am afraid I cannot. I do not have the appropriate translations matrix to hand." He said. "It is part of the terms."

"Ah. You three, sit down and shut up till I say so." Xander said.

The three sullenly sat down in a vastly robotic fashion.

"Unfortunately for you I can understand every word you say, I know you did it on purpose. You pull a stunt like that again and I will personally declare war on the Goa'uld and start with the three of you were you sit." Xander glared at them.

Needless to say they found themselves sporting that lovely shade of pale. Xander gave a nod to Thor who outlined the Asgard proposal. Things seemed to go well until the Goa'uld demanded the Earth Stargates. If that wasn't bad enough, they demanded that they sever all ties with the Tok'ra and Lord Xander.

"You do realise that will never happen?" Xander said. "Especially as this is my home planet."

"We care not." Yu said.

"Well, here's my counter proposal. The Goa'uld will not attack Earth or attempt to enslave anymore planets. I, in return, will refrain from personally actively seeking out the Goa'uld for the sole purpose of destroying them. Should we meet in passing and fall into battle, that will be acceptable. Should you capture my friends and allies, I will come for them and you."

"That is a preposterous suggestion. We will not accept." Nirrti declared.

"Then allow me to give you a very good reason why you should. There are plenty of other predators out there who want nothing more than to consume and rule our little neck of the Universe. We tend to fight those things. If we are fighting them, then you won't have to.

"Unless you think you can handle species like the Reetou on your own." Xander said leaning back in his chair smugly. "Whilst looking over your shoulder for me all the time."

Xander suddenly vanished.

A voice, slight obscured as if over speakers came from just behind their heads.

"Of course, you'll never see me coming."

Three heads whipped round to see a fully armoured Spartan Warrior fade into view.

Xander vanished his armour and teleported back into his chair.

Normally he only used it for distance travelling or between primary locations. But the Goa'uld only recognised power. And he was showing them his.

"One last personal note. I can teleport to any person I spend enough time with. So… if these talks fail… I'll be coming after you three first. With your combined armies, I doubt the rest of the System Lords will be an issue." Xander said absently picking his nails.

There was a brief moment of paralysing fear.

"We require some time to discuss this, a recess." Cronus said.

Xander looked to Thor and inclined his head in ascent.

"Very well, we will recess for two hours." Thor declared.

The three snakeheads backed out of the room their eyes never leaving Xander. Who stared straight back.

"I have been told of course by Garshaw of your imposing armour and powers Lord Xander, but I must say they fail to do justice to actually witnessing them." Per'sus said releasing a deep breath as the door closed.

"Please, in private at least just call me Xander. The Tok'ra are my friends after all." Xander said.

"I too was impressed. But a little dismayed at the use of such… overtly aggressive tactics." Thor said shaking his head.

"Thor, have you ever known the Goa'uld not to use those tactics?" Xander asked.

"Regrettably no. And I am the chief negotiator for handling these types of meetings." Thor said.

"The Goa'uld do not respect weakness. Or logic for that matter. They only see their own needs and employ any means necessary." Xander said. "I just gave them a new primary need. Survival."

"Can you truly take on the entire collective of the System Lords?" Martouf asked.

"In all likelihood, yes. But there would be a lot of blood shed on the way, many Jaffa will die, not to mention the hosts. I could easily take out those three," he said indicating the door the snakes had left through, "and claim their armies. But I would need more information before I could reach the others and defeat them, and I would need to involve my Jaffa."

"So you bluffed?" Jack asked.

"No. If they refuse our terms I will do as I said. It may cause them to call for a renegotiation."

"Do you think they'll go for it?" Jack asked.

"Xander was right to make it very personal for the three who are here." Selmak said. "They will do everything to ensure their own personal survival. To refuse will ensure their end."

"It is likely they are not discussing whether or not to accept, but how to explain it to the other System Lords." Martouf smirked.

Two hours later and the Goa'uld walked in with their snooty attitudes. They took one look at Xander's raised eyebrow and their eyes dropped to the floor. Fear is a powerful motivator.

"We agree to the terms set out." Cronus said simply.

That was apparently that. Signatures were given, formal vows. And they all transported up to the Gate Ship to watch the worms scurry off.

Just as they were about to step through Xander called out.

"As a sign of good faith I will give you some advice. Refrain from using audio and visual communications. If you can see or hear me… I can do this."

Xander turned to Martouf.

"Demon, leave your host." He commanded.

Lantesh, Martouf's symbiote leapt from his mouth and landed in Xander's hand. Martouf fell to the floor. Xander brandished the writhing symbiote at the departing Goa'uld as everyone in the gate room looked on in shock.

"It's in your best interests." He said. "Leave." He commanded.

The Goa'uld stepped through and Xander rushed over to Martouf.

"Quick open up and lets get you back where you belong." Xander said holding Lantesh to Martouf's mouth.

"Xander what is the meaning of this!" George demanded.

The others were clearly shocked and outraged, but the other two Tok'ra were terrified. Lantesh suddenly took control his eyes lighting up.

"Please do not fear, it was a pre-planned between Martouf, Lord Xander and myself. An extra means of making the point." Lantesh said.

"A little warning would have been nice." Jack complained still recovering from the shock.

"But your reactions would not have been so… vivid." Martouf added as he sat up.

"We also wanted to find out if I can remove a symbiote from the host and have the symbiote survive." Xander explained. "Most of the time a symbiote hops straight from one host to the other. This might allow the Tok'ra a new line of subterfuge as the symbiote can return to its previous mission after its current host is compromised. So far only Teal'c's symbiote has survived without a host or Jaffa, but that took a lot of additional help. Lantesh is fully mature, hopefully he is a lot sturdier."

"I do wish you would curb your bad habits when it comes to your little experimentations Martouf. You as well Lantesh. What if you had been wrong? There is no doctor available or healer to lend aid if you suffered as a result!" Per'sus said tiredly.

"Xander could get me to Doctor Frasier in seconds or less." Martouf argued as he was helped to his feet by Xander and Jacob.

Lantesh just grinned at Jack. "Now you know why we prefer to be together, no one else knows how to have fun!"

"Hey!" Jacob said feigning hurt.

"Ok, so maybe those two." Martouf said.

"Can you really order them over the audio communications?" Jacob asked.

Xander grinned. "One way to find out."

At which he vanished.

There was a beep.

Jack rolled his eyes and answered his now standard issue watch communicator.

"Yes Xander." He said wearily.

"Can you all hear me?"

There was chorus of yeses.

"Good. Lantesh, start dancing. Selmak, start singing Camp Town Racers, I'm sure Jacob knows it. Per'sus… hop on one leg."

The sight was rather disturbing.

"Xander for god's sake order them to stop… Jacob and Selmak can _not_ sing!" Jack pleaded.

"Ok guys you can stop now." Xander chuckled as he appeared back amongst them.

Jack and George were glaring at Xander but Per'sus trying hard to squash a smirk and Martouf was openly chuckling.

"Damn it Xander!" Jacob exclaimed. "Selmak is now going through all my knowledge of music."

"Is that a bad thing?" Jack asked.

"I know a lot of music… I just hope she doesn't find a liking for something like… opera."

"Nothing wrong with opera!" Jack argued.

Which caused Xander to give him a weird look.

"I like opera." He shrugged.

"As interesting and informative as this has been, I believe we should head back." Per'sus said adjusting his robes.

Ten minutes later and it was just George, Jack and Xander, Oz having left earlier.

"You do realise that tonight is the big night?" Jack smirked at Xander.

"What night?" He asked in fear. He did not like that smirk.

"Homecoming?"

"So?"

"Well you are going, aren't you?" Jack asked.

"Why?"

"Xander, it's your last year at high school. And I'm sure Gaia would like to go, and you would do well to offer to escort her." George said kindly but firmly.

"What's the real reason?" Xander asked suspiciously.

Jack sighed. "Jenny is in charge of organising the chaperones. She roped SG1, Joyce roped the General. Cordelia said we were under orders to get you to the dance to support them."

Xander looked pleadingly at George.

Who just snorted. "Even _I_ don't argue with Cordelia!"

* * *

So it was that SG1 was chaperoning the dance. Xander and Gaia were happily dancing together.

"I suppose it's a shame you're not a student here. You could have run for queen too." Xander mused.

Gaia blushed. "You say the nicest things." She gushed kissing his cheek.

"I wonder who else they got to run for king?" He mused.

Gaia had a distinctly guilty look about her. "Ah… well… see they wanted Oz to have someone decent to run against, so they-"

"NO!" Xander gasped.

"Yep." She smirked.

"That is so mean!" He groused. There wasn't much point getting overly upset. The girls wouldn't let him remain so. "Why me?"

Gaia rolled her eyes. "You do realise you're hot? Pretty well built these days?"

"But I'm hardly around!"

"Yeah, well, Willow and I have been campaigning on your behalf." She said with a grin.

"Oz did this so he wouldn't win, didn't he?" He asked suspiciously.

"I ain't saying nothing." She said shaking her head childishly.

"I didn't realise this was in the job description as Champion of the Universe." He groaned. "God I hope I don't win."

"I don't think she'll be much help. She's probably rooting for you." Gaia smirked.

"Women!" Xander moaned.

"You know you love us."

"Xander, there is a problem." Delta's voice came through clearly in his head.

Xander frowned and led Gaia off the floor. They were soon approached by Giles and George.

"The girls haven't arrived." George said. "We can't raise them on the comms and we can't scan the area. We're being blocked."

"Normally I'd say they're girls and naturally late. But this is different." He said getting a smack from Gaia. "I'm on it." He said vanishing.

* * *

Three of the girls were pissed. One was terrified.

Willow was research girl. Hacker girl. Not a fighter. This was really bad.

"Don't worry Red, we'll keep you safe." Faith assured her with a friendly one-armed hug.

SlayerFest was on and Faith intended to find Trick and rip him to shreds for setting this up. Also for the Cheesy vid.

"How long before he gets here?" Cordelia asked.

"Who?" Faith queried.

"Xander, as soon as they figure we're overdue, they'll try and call, when that doesn't work they'll send in Xander, probably Oz too." Buffy said, she was on look out.

"You called?" Xander quipped as he appeared next to the girls.

"About time Doofus!" Cordelia snapped.

Buffy ignored the up coming snipe fest and began to explain. "The limo we were in dropped us off here. That vamp that was with Kakistos…"

"Trick." Faith supplied.

"Yeah, he had this TV and vid' set up to send us a message. Real cheesy too. There are several… hunters out here. Hunting Slayers. Trick set it up. Calling it SlayerFest."

"Ok, definitely need to have words with this guy. He sounds inventive. Like Angelus." Xander mused.

"Xander, I am detecting two tracking signals emanating from the Slayer's corsage's." Delta informed.

The girls checked and found the small metal cylinders.

Xander took them from the girls and stuck them to the tree.

"Why didn't Bertie pick it up?" Buffy asked.

"Who?" Xander asked in confusion.

"Bertie… Beta, I renamed him." She said smiling proudly.

Xander rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "Poor guy."

"_Beta_ does not have access to Xander's implants whilst he remains with you. We will work on adding additional sensors to the communicators." Delta said emphasising the AI's name.

"Ok, you're clean now, let's get back to the dance. Oz is waiting with SG1 so you should be fine." Xander said as he held his arms out for the girls to grab.

After quickly dropping off the girls, Xander returned to the transmitters in full armour. He needed to take out the threat and he also wanted to find out why those transmitters work but his didn't.

"Delta, other than the movement I am tracking, are you getting anything else?" Xander queried.

"Negative, but we are cut off from the gate ship and other AI's." Delta confirmed.

"Ok, we'll see if we can't get some info out of the one nearby." Xander said as he engaged his invisibility and headed towards the movement.

It has to be a frightening experience to suddenly find yourself struggling to breathe whilst dangling several feet in the air.

That fear trebles when you discover that you are being held up by a creature in futuristic armour whose face is obscured.

This probably explained the loss of bow control.

"Who are you and who put you up to this little hunt?" Xander asked menacingly.

"Some vamp named Trick!" He blurted. "My names Jungle Bob."

"Your parents must have hated you." Xander said dryly. "How many others are hunting and where can I find them and this Trick?" Xander demanded.

"Three other groups, some demon with knives, a vampire couple and some Germans with guns and grenade launchers." Bob was struggling with the hand holding him. It wasn't strangling him though. Not that he could notice through the fear.

"That's it?" Xander demanded.

"I swear!"

That was the last he said as Xander squeezed and snapped his neck.

"I have isolated the signal on the transmitters and can track it back to the receiver." Delta said.

"Ok, once we take out the vamps and the demon we'll bait the Germans." Xander decided. "Any idea how we'll find them?"

"An aerial survey might-" There was a blip on the motion sensors. "Never mind."

Xander re-engaged his invisibility. He headed towards the readings and found a yellow skinned demon stalking through the woods, sniffing now and again.

"Just for the record, what type of demon are you?" Xander asked as he dropped the cloak.

"I am Kulok, of the Miquot Clan." He said brandishing a pair of serrated blades. "I will kill you!"

"Yeah sure you will." Xander sighed as he ignited his plasma sword.

This caused Kulok to pause and reconsider. At which point he was hit in the chest by blue lightning. Then two more times and he disintegrated.

"Why did you draw the sword if you were going to shoot him?" Delta asked.

"Effect and distraction." Xander shrugged.

"Perhaps we should report back and alert them to the current situation." Delta suggested.

Nodding Xander vanished his armour as he teleported back to Giles.

He found himself in the library. Giles on the floor unconscious and Oz about to take on two vamps with Buffy and Faith.

The vamps span around and Xander saw crossbows so he summoned his armour.

The bolts bouncing harmlessly off his metal plates.

Xander just looked at Oz and the Slayers and said. "Have fun."

The three pounced and made very short work of the two would be Slayer-Killers.

Jenny, Cordelia and Willow were fussing over Giles.

"Better take him to Janet, to be sure." Xander said.

Seconds later Willow had called for a medical pick up and they were gone.

"That the last of them?" Buffy asked.

"I got a human hunter and a demon with knives, you got the vampire couple. That leaves, Trick and a couple of Germans." Xander said.

"I am picking up two readings in the school. They are moving in a military fashion." Delta reported.

"Probably tracking the corsages." Oz said, indicating the two fluffy accessories Xander was currently holding.

"They move quick, I was just in the woods with them." Xander muttered.

"Let me go deal with these guys, they have guns and grenade launchers, so stay put and out of sight." Xander ordered.

There was the sound of Zat fire.

"Ok, sounds like its been dealt with." Xander shrugged.

"Kid? You in here?" Jack called out.

"Yeah Jack, we're all here." Xander responded. "You get them both?"

Jack walked into the library with Teal'c and Sam.

"Yeah, two guys with heavy weapons and sophisticated gear." He confirmed.

"Xander I am picking up a signal monitoring the transmitters and the two downed individuals." Delta said.

"Can we beam straight there?" Xander asked.

"I don't believe so. But you do know the area. You could teleport there and head in on foot."

* * *

Mr Trick had recently been hauled away by the police. He didn't hold out much hope for his survival… especially if it was an eastern facing cell.

His men were down. It looked like magic was involved judging from the lightning bolts he had seen on his video feed. Right now he was trying to crack the safe where Trick had hidden the prize money. He would grab it and initiate his magical transport out of there. His escape would be hidden by his custom dampening field.

Magic and technology, a match made in heaven.

He took his time. No one knew where he was, and Trick was probably recovering from lead poisoning by now.

So he was shocked when he found himself dangling in the air by something grasping the back of his neck.

"Where is Trick?" A menacing voice asked.

"Why should I tell you?" The man said belligerently.

"Do you need me to spell it out for you?" The menacing voice enquired.

"I am far more powerful than you assume." The man tried.

"I assume nothing." There was a hissing sound and a flash of light.

The man suddenly saw a two pronged blade of light rise up in front of him.

"I don't fear you." The man gulped.

The man watched as the blade descended on his right arm, severing the hand at the wrist.

If you come across a magic user, remove his ability to use his hands and voice. Those are his tools. That was a lesson Giles had given him quietly one day. Just in case Ethan returned. The man screamed.

"Where is Trick?" The voice repeated.

"GONE!" The man screamed staring at his stump.

The other hand disappeared and the man screamed again.

"WHERE!" The menacing voice roared.

"Cops… cops-took him." The stuttered in shock.

The man suddenly found himself dropped on the floor.

His head hit the floor, as his vision cleared he saw his own hands a foot away from him. The stumps smoking.

His vision was soon attracted to the glowing blades.

And then the hulking armoured figure that held it.

"Now, answer me simply and truthfully and we can end this now." The figure said. "How are you blocking technology and how do I stop it?"

"In the b-b-bag. An urn. Holds the key, break it and it is done." He said, sweat pouring down his face.

The move was swift. And the head rolled to the floor.

The armoured figure grabbed the bag and vanished.

* * *

"Sir, I just got word that the dampening field has been lifted." Colonel O'Neill reported. "Permission to provide back up?"

"Granted."

They landed in the house in a flash of light. SG1 watching the sides with two Slayers in the middle.

There was a round of 'clears' and they slowly spread out.

"Erm, Jack, you might want to see this." Daniel called out.

"What's up Danny?" Jack said as he jogged over. "Holy – wow. That does not look good."

"What's up?" Buffy asked as she and Faith came over.

"Oh God!" Faith said as she dashed outside to empty her stomach.

"Xander?" Sam asked.

"The wounds are cauterised." Jack said quietly.

"Why isn't he here?" Buffy asked in fear.

Jack looked at her. "Give me a moment and I'll explain." Jack said as he activated his comm. "General Hammond this O'Neill."

"Colonel. Your report?"

"One DOA. Looks like Xander's work. Might be best you send her after him to make sure he's good." Jack said.

General Hammond sighed. "Understood. Arrange for clean up as you need."

Jack signed off and turned to Buffy who had been joined by a slightly green, but steady Faith.

"Xander sometimes works on instinct. Sometimes of the animals he becomes. Sometimes of the Spartan who once possessed him.

"When Xander had to deal with the Werewolves, Gaia gave me a copy of Agent Washington's service record.

"He was the consummate professional. But he was ruthless. He was not above torture to extract information that he needed. He probably killed all of the hunters, even if they were human. You saw the show, Wash killed South, and that was at Delta's suggestion."

Buffy gasped. "You think he tortured this man?"

"I can't say for certain. Only Xander can."

"It wasn't torture. Though Xander may consider it that and blame himself for it." Giles said as he entered the room with the clean up team.

"I figured with the magic possibilities I should probably assist." He said explaining his presence.

"Then why take the mans hands?" Daniel asked.

"One of the first things I taught Xander after Ethan Rayne made his second appearance in Sunnydale, was how to deal with magic users.

"Disable the use of the hands and voice. Those are their tools."

"You think he was securing the prisoner?" Sam asked.

"I believe so." Giles said as he examined the parts of the dismembered corpse. "Yes." He said with certainty. "See how the only damage is to the neck and wrists. No additional bodily damage. He may have employed some… flair, when he did it to make a point. But he would not have done it otherwise.

"Bertie?" Buffy said calling for her companion AI.

"Yes Buffy?" Came the child like voice.

"Can you contact the gate ship AI's and have them scan the woods for the other bodies. We need to know what damage they received."

"Yes Buffy." The AI said as it vanished.

The others looked at her questioningly.

"If the other bodies show signs of… torture, we'll know for sure." She shrugged.

Jack nodded in agreement. Giles smiled proudly, at the intelligence and initiative Buffy had shown.

Beta returned shortly.

"One human was found with a snapped neck, possibly squeezed, but quickly. There was no other body, but a residual charge from a Zat gun was detected."

"Thank you Bertie. That's all." She said smiling at the pink AI.

"Like I said. Must be instinct coupled with Giles' teachings." Jack said.

"Gaia will ensure he is ok." Giles assured them.


	23. Chapter 23

Gaia was not surprised to find Xander once more in the holy place where God tended to meet with him.

She was surprised to find that Hades was the one dealing with him, they were seated in two simple chairs facing each other.

"Yes. Your actions were harsh. They might even be considered cruel. They were not wrong." Hades was saying to the young man sat on the chair opposite.

Hades sent Gaia a small smile and wink.

"Your friends have already worked that out, so convincing them is not an issue. You need only deal with the events in your own mind. Which we all believe you can do." He said.

"Now, I will dispose of this urn as it is pure demon magic. You can have a little chat with my sister." Hades said indicating the approaching Gaia.

Gaia had to admit he looked a forlorn sight.

Six foot something and most of it muscle. Still in his tux.

Even Buffy and Faith had time to change into their 'work clothes'.

Gaia didn't say a word. She changed her clothes to that of the dark green dress she had worn to the dance and began dancing silently with him.

They went this way for a few minutes. Just enjoying each others company.

"I'm sorry I keep getting like this." He said eventually.

Gaia didn't stop dancing. She just leaned back and smiled.

"As long as you take the advice you are given, you can take the time you need. I'd be more worried if you didn't need time to deal. It would mean your conscience might be slipping."

* * *

Somehow, none of the girls won the prize of Homecoming Queen.

Two other entrants won together. To say the four were shocked, was an understatement.

They couldn't leave though. Buffy wouldn't let them.

Oz won the Kings position.

He was most grouchy. He had to dance with both winners.

His feet were very sore despite his healing.

Things trundled along as best they could. The girls spent time sulking over their Homecoming defeat.

Although many people expressed shock at the fact that none of them won. It was Oz that pointed out the possible reason.

"You worked together and each got relatively similar levels of votes. The other two were working solo. All out for themselves. So they snagged the remaining and undecided votes.

"In hindsight you should have picked one of you to run and the others to support."

Unfortunately logic was not what they were looking for and he was rewarded with a glare that had him hurrying off claiming Xander said he wanted to see him.

Xander took some pity on him by sending them on another shopping spree.

Oz wasn't too sure about Xander's version of pity.

He had made Oz their official pack mule for the day.

* * *

On one of his frequent trips to visit the SGC and more importantly the SGCCC (Stargate Child Care Centre), he was accosted by a distressed Sha're.

"Xander, they want to take Daniel away. They say he is mad!" She cried.

"Why?" He asked in confusion.

"He claimed he heard voices and saw ghosts." She said through her sobs.

Xander sighed and rubbed a hand down his face.

"Sha're I fight demons and ghosts everyday. I'll head to George now and give him what for." He said planting a quick kiss on Sha're's cheek as he vanished.

"See, I told you he'd sort it out." Joyce said hugging the distraught younger woman.

"George, what's the big idea trying to lock Daniel up for hearing voices and seeing ghosts?" He demanded appearing in the briefing room. Which was unfortunately populated with lots of men in suits.

Bureaucrats.

George stood and gave a short bow. "Lord Xander, welcome. We determined that he was suffering hallucinations and dementia when we found no evidence of outside influence."

"And just how many advanced allies did you ask to make sure?" He asked.

"We didn't, we thought it was just a sad case of too much stress." George admitted.

"General, surely you realise by now that just because technology can't detect something, doesn't mean something isn't there. It might be that your tech is not advanced enough."

Xander didn't wait for a response; he activated his comm. unit.

"Thor you there?"

"I am here Xander." Thor said as his holographic form was projected above Xander's wrist.

"Daniel came back from an exploration mission claiming to hear voices and see ghosts. I'm thinking an infection of some kind. Think you can help make sure?" He asked.

"Of course. I will meet you in your infirmary in one hour." Thor said.

And then he signed off.

"Always remember, someone out there knows more than you." Xander said. "Which for me sometimes means everyone." He grinned.

"Thank you Xander. SG1 is pretty torn up over this. I assume it was Sha're who told you?" George said in relief.

"Yeah, I went for my usual visit." He said.

"Whilst you are here young man, perhaps you would be so good as to justify some of the expenses that are a direct result of your escapades." One of the gentlemen said with a rather serious frown.

"Is he talking to me?" Xander asked George.

George meanwhile was bristling with fury. "You would do well to remember your place sir. This is Lord Xander, and unless he gives you leave to do otherwise you will address him as such. I _know_ the President will be most upset when he finds out about this."

"From what I have read he is his just a high school student. And not a very bright one." The man continued.

"I thought my files were classified beyond belief?" Xander asked.

"They are, unfortunately he has clearance." George said with disdain.

"And the rest of these people?" He asked indicating the various individuals seated around the table.

"No." George said. "Mr Scofield is the head of this group and has higher clearance." George explained.

The next thing they knew they were confronted by a seven foot armoured figure.

"So he has just knowingly divulged classified information to people without clearance?" The armoured figure demanded.

George just nodded. His face stony.

"Then I suggest you arrest him General before I demand justice myself from your President." Xander said quietly.

The arrest was quick. The airman at the door following the orders of the General. Not to mention there wasn't a member of the SGC who wouldn't follow Xander's orders without hesitation.

The protests of Mr Scofield were duly ignored as the guards dragged him away.

Xander banished his armour and sat down in Mr Scofield's now vacant seat.

He surveyed the assembled men and women as George retook his seat.

"What you heard was beyond classified. That kind of information puts me, my friends and family at risk from people who think they can control me.

"Worse, it puts this planet at risk if enemies out there," he said pointing to the ceiling, "find out this information."

"I have diplomatic immunity and the blessing of the President to take whatever action is necessary to protect myself and my people. That includes the people of this planet.

"I will however say this. Mr…"

"Scofield." George supplied.

"Made comments referring to expenditures. General Hammond is one of the most honest men you will meet. He does not make frivolous requests. He has the respect of the Tok'ra, the Asgard, myself, and Lady Gaia, the Goddess of the Universe.

"If that's not enough, he has been accepted into the physical presence of the Almighty. The Creator."

Xander paused.

"If you can find in your investigations, a legitimate reason to query an expenditure, feel free to raise it. We are not God. We make mistakes. People like you help keep us grounded. There probably are instances where I should foot the bill for certain things. If that is the case, then write it up and I'll see to it that it is done.

"But do not try and use pointless bureaucratic incidents to further your own agenda. We will find out and we will bury you."

"Thank you Lord Xander. With Commander Thor due shortly, I will bring this meeting to an end so we can meet with him." George said.

* * *

"Xander! You've got to help!" Daniel begged. "He was strapped to a bed in the infirmary."

"Easy Daniel, Sha're and George have explained." He said as he unstrapped the frightened archaeologist.

"Xander is it wise to release him?" Janet asked.

"I really doubt that he's nuts. He definitely is seeing things though. I called Thor in to see if he can help find the problem." Xander assured her.

"What do you think it is?" Daniel asked rubbing his wrists.

"Not a clue." Xander grinned.

Daniel and Janet just stared at him in disbelief.

"I'm just the guy who hits things. But Thor has far more advanced tech than us. If that doesn't work there is always Martouf and Lantesh. They are looking for someone who would be willing to play temporary host in one of their experiments."

Daniel grimaced at that,

"Don't worry, they don't like being apart. They just feel the need to test the limits of their ability to separate." Xander said. "Besides, the symbiote might be able to help. But that's a last resort, as I don't want to put Lantesh at risk."

"Doctor MacKenzie was quite clear in his diagnosis. General Hammond has recalled all teams as a result." Janet said.

"Because Daniel started hearing voices and seeing ghosts?" Xander asked.

"Also because 55% of the teams are experiencing headaches, he believes it might be a side affect from gate use." Janet corrected.

Xander rolled his eyes. "Daniel, how old is the gate system?"

"Tens of thousands of years, we can't be sure."

"Did the Goa'uld build it?"

"No, that much we do know." Daniel said firmly.

"All the humans that the Goa'uld enslave, the priests and servants, do they all have symbiotes?"

"No, it's considered a privilege to carry one."

"You see where I am going with this?" Xander asked Janet.

"Not really." She said frowning.

"Humans have been using the gate system for thousands of years. As have the Tok'ra and the Asgard. In all the years that the SGC has been running, there hasn't been a report which includes offworld evidence of humans suffering mental problems from gate travel. The Asgard and Tok'ra would have warned us. Hell Teal'c would have warned us."

"He's right. There's no logical reason to assume it's the gate." Daniel said.

"Yes he is." General Hammond agreed as he entered having heard most of Xander's reasoning. The General headed over to the phone and dialled. "This is General Hammond. I want Doctor MacKenzie placed under guard until further notice. He is confined to a holding cell."

"Here's hoping he's just an idiot." Daniel said.

General Hammond called down SG1 and explained the situation. Sam verbally berated herself for missing the logic.

George ordered them to investigate MacKenzie whilst Thor dealt with Daniel.

Thor soon arrived and things were set to order. The little bugs were removed. Thor recommended that they destroy them as they would endanger the Tok'ra and Jaffa.

George was happy to leave that in Thor's capable hands.

And so a happy Sha're was reunited with her sane husband. Jack even made a certificate to prove it.

* * *

Adults were acting like kids.

Snyder was dead creepy.

The AI's having been keeping track of things made Xander and the others aware. They were quickly on the trail of the band candy.

He sent Giles and Jenny off to the SGC so they didn't do anything… stupid.

Fortunately the Jaffa were unaffected and General Hammond sent in SG teams to ensure security at the police stations and hospitals.

Ethan Rayne was behind this.

Xander didn't hesitate to remove the Chaos Mage's hands. He had already caused enough mayhem and proven that he could escape the Council

The chaos mage knew fear for the first time since Eyghon returned. He told them everything. About the Mayor, the babies and Trick.

Xander finished the job.

This time though he had the rest of the gang with him and they stood by him.

Xander was able to call the teams stationed at the hospital to be on the watch. He need not have worried as the combined Jaffa and SG teams had made short work of the vampire baby snatchers.

Xander and the gang headed to find this Lurconis. Buffy and Faith were not pleased at having to go through the sewers. Xander pointed out that it was worse for Oz as he didn't have a mask like Xander to protect his super sense of smell. The girls were instantly sympathetic to the poor wolf.

Xander promised they'd head straight to the SGC after they got cleaned up and get Oz and the girls outfitted with ODST armour. It's helmet system had a great filtration system.

It seems they were early.

The vampires were chanting in robes.

Mr Trick was checking his cuffs.

The Mayor was on the phone with some one about sewer maintenance.

But Lurconis was absent.

"Wow, gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'evil politician'." Buffy said.

"Now what are you young people doing down here?" The Mayor asked. "You should be at home doing your school work, or in bed ready for tomorrow morning. Not gallivanting around the sewers with some armoured monster!"

"You were going to sacrifice babies to a demon… and you're calling him a monster?" Faith asked in disbelief.

"Well, I did make certain campaign promises and I feel it's important to keep those promises." The Mayor said offhandedly.

"Just FYI, the babies are safe, the vamps, dust." Oz pointed out.

"Well… that's not good." The Mayor mused. "I suppose two slayers and a werewolf ought to be a good substitute. And whatever Mr Harris is classified as."

This caught the four by surprise.

"Oh, I know all about you. Especially Mr Osbourne being bitten by his young cousin and now afflicted every full moon. Mr Harris and his, enhancements thanks to Mr Rayne."

"He's dead, so you know." Buffy offered.

"Oh well, too chaotic for my tastes." He giggled.

"Xander, is the Mayor on the kill list?" Faith asked.

"Yes, he's evil. The killing of babies is small fry for him, I think." Xander noted.

"Cool." And with that the fight was on.

More of a slaughter really. Trick and the Mayor hightailed it whilst the others were kept busy by the chanting vamps.

Then Lurconis turned up.

There was a lot of roaring and physical posturing on the part of the snake.

And then Xander sliced his head off with his plasma sword.

"It always seems anti-climactic when you do that." Buffy commented.

"You'd rather have a long knock down fight where most of us could die or wind up injured?" Xander asked.

"No, I'm just saying."

Xander made good on his word and transported them all to the school showers to clean up and then off to the SGC to get outfitted.

Which unfortunately meant that they had to wait whilst custom kits were made. All three were a bit short.

Faith needed some… extra room.

* * *

And so the days went by and the Scoobies began investigating the Mayor and turning up shocking discoveries but nothing to really go on.

Jack turned up one evening at the SGCCC (Joyce refused to forgive him for that) with a young girl who was some sort of prodigy.

Jack was pissed at the way the kids were used and then left to just live empty lives.

Xander offered to setup schools and such to retrain them and suggested introducing the Orbans to their other allies. They might be able to improve their lives and methods.

In the meantime, Merrin, the young girl, was learning to enjoy life and have fun under the tutelage of Jack O'Neill and his son Charlie.

Charlie insisted on going with Jack and Merrin as he had much more recent knowledge of being a child than Jack.

Jack was indignant at Charlie's declaration whilst Xander was rolling on the floor in tears and hysterical laughter.

Something that Charlie couldn't understand.

* * *

Xander was woken up the next morning with a request from General Hammond for both he and Gaia to come to the SGC as soon as possible.

It was only Wednesday. He figured that if he didn't spend much time at school, then College would be a waste of time altogether.

Nonetheless he sent word to the Scoobies that he would be absent for the day, and headed off to the SGC.

Gaia and Xander where directed to the briefing room where the General was expecting them.

"Woah, two Sam's. No waiting." Xander quipped.

"Xander, Gaia, this is Major Charles Kawalsky and em_Doctor/em_ Samantha Carter." The General introduced. "They are from an alternate reality."

"Guess that explains why you wanted us both here." Xander mused as he and Gaia joined SG1 at the table.

"Apparently their Earth has been overrun by Apophis. They escaped through a device we call a quantum mirror." Daniel explained.

"Oh! I've been looking for that! It belongs to Xander." Gaia said matter of factly.

"It does?" Xander asked.

"How else did you expect to get armies through to other realities or for people to call for help when they need you?" She asked.

"Ok." He shrugged.

"General, who are these… children, and why are you being so free with information with them?" Alternate Sam asked.

"Xander?" George offered.

To which Xander gave a look which clearly said 'Are you nuts?'

So George passed the buck to Daniel.

"Gaia is the Goddess of the Universe. As in a full blown deity, she answers to the Almighty, the Creator." Daniel explained.

"Are you sure you're an actual scholar?" Alternate Sam asked in disbelief.

"She's really not winning any points with her tact is she?" Gaia said rolling her eyes.

"I've been blessed enough to actually stand in the presence of the Almighty. As have all of us here, from this reality." Daniel said.

"So you're saying that in this reality there really is a God?" Kawalsky asked in shock.

"No, in every reality she exists." Gaia said chidingly. "She tends to appear to these guys because their friends with Xander… she really likes Xander.

At which the Champion of the Universe blushed.

"She?" Alternate Sam asked.

"She likes the female form." Xander shrugged.

"Who doesn't." Kawalsky returned.

"And who are you supposed to be? Jesus Christ returned to earth?" Alternate Sam said scathingly.

"Watch it Doc." Xander said firmly. "We've barely said 'hi' to you and you insult us. Be careful when you insult my bosses and friends."

"Xander is the Champion of the Universe, in service to Gaia." Daniel said ploughing ahead. "Their responsibilities are to this Universe, through all realities, and all times. That is why they were called in."

"I don't believe this." Alternate Sam said throwing down her pen and leaning back in defeat.

"Then don't, just shut up and leave the rest to us." The native Sam said. She was pretty pissed with her alternate self's attitude, to her career choice and now to her friends.

"Our Sam is right. General, you had a reason to call us… a plan? Or you looking for input?" Xander agreed.

"A bit of both." George said. "We were considering attempting to launch a mission into their reality to contact the Asgard there. We were also hoping you might consider joining it and offering input."

Xander turned to Gaia. "Am I good to go on the alternate realities yet? You said I wasn't due to handle time travel yet."

"No you're clear on alternate realities, it works the same way as teleporting in this reality, only you have to be specific about which version of a person or location you are heading to. You'll get used to it." She assured him.

"Ok, what's the exact situation on your Earth?" Xander asked Kawalsky.

Kawalsky looked to Jack who nodded.

"The Goa'uld came in ships and bombed the major cities. Except Colorado Springs. Possibly because the gate is there. They had taken over the base as we were escaping. They also got our General Hammond."

"Did Apophis come to the base?" Xander asked.

"We got word that he was due to land." Kawalsky confirmed.

Xander thought for a minute.

"Ok, we go through. Everyone else holds the mirror whilst I go off and find Apophis. I do the whole 'You are a false god. Leave the host' spiel and claim his armies and territories. Once that's done you guys set up for gating to the Asgard, I can't teleport without having been there, so we will need to use the thing Jack built."

"No offence kid, but you seriously think you can just stroll through a bunch of armed Jaffa and then order a snake to leave the host?" Kawalsky asked in disbelief.

"I told you." Alternate Sam muttered. "Their nuts."

"Xander. Scare the crap out of her." Gaia ordered.

Alternate Sam looked up in shock. Xander suddenly vanished and she found her lap occupied with a cute little kitten.

"That wasn't what I had in mind." Gaia said rubbing the bridge of her nose.

Alternate Sam looked down at the kitten and then quickly picked it up dropping it on the table.

"That's the kid? Xander?" She asked the General in disbelief.

George just nodded with a small smile at Xander's antics as he cleaned his paws.

"How exactly is a kitten gonna be of any use?" She asked in annoyance.

"What makes you think he can only turn into a kitten?" Jack asked smugly.

The next thing they knew Alternate Sam and Kawalsky were on their butts scooting away as a huge lion roared at them.

General Hammond and SG1 just winced.

Gaia was smiling. "That's more like it. Now show them the rest."

Xander vanished from the table.

The room was very quiet.

There was a sudden snapping hiss.

And Xander appeared before them in full Spartan Armour bearing his plasma sword.

"Any questions?" He asked calmly.

* * *

An hour later and SG1 barring their Sam, was kitted out in their new ODST armour. Kawalsky was in the standard SG gear he had arrived in, and Doctor Carter was in a simple set of BDU's and bullet proof armour.

They were just about to head on through when Gaia turned up.

"Almost forgot. Turn on your… demon vision. Now take a look at the two Sams."

"Huh, is there a reason Doctor Carter looks a little green?" Xander asked.

Alternate Sam was checking herself to see.

"Now look at Major Kawalsky."

"Ah, some kind of reality coding?" Xander asked.

"Pretty much. Different hues for different realities, but none for your native one." She said. "Now, hurry up and be safe." She said as she kissed his cheek and vanished.

"Ok guys." Xander said as he donned his helmet. "Let's go catch us a snake." And they vanished through the Mirror.

"Is she always forgetting things like that?" Alternate Sam asked her native self.

"Only around Xander." Native Sam smirked.

"Ah."

* * *

Xander was flying down the corridors in bug form. Kawalsky had told him the layout was same as in his reality, so it was hard to get lost.

Best bet was to head to the Stargate. They obviously didn't have him in this reality, so the Gate Room was still on the planet.

That would change once he seized Apophis' ship.

As he approached the control room he could hear Apophis' voice. Not the best of memories, but still it meant he was going the right way.

Something Xander did em_not/em_ like to see was George Hammond (of any reality) being tortured.

Moving in quickly Xander switched to his armour and invisibility. Grabbed George and took him to SG1.

Without pause he headed back to Apophis.

Without invisibility.

He was assaulted by various Zat blasts which had no affect. The Staff blasts where dropping his shield slightly. He ignited his sword and dispatched the Jaffa that had taken a little too much pleasure in torturing Alternate George. He then made quick work of the staff weapons. Leaving the Jaffa with ineffective Zats.

"Order them to stop." Xander commanded Apophis.

Very woodenly Apophis gave the order.

"Do you have the means to transmit what we say and do to your Jaffa and people throughout the galaxy?" Xander asked.

Again Apophis gave a wooden nod.

The surrounding Jaffa were astounded, this armoured being seemed invincible. Moved so smoothly despite the cumbersome armour. And now he could command their god!

"Then make it happen now." Xander ordered.

Apophis struggled to resist. A Goa'uld ruled by fear. Examples of raw power. Much like this armoured demon appeared to do. But Apophis was the real demon. And the lowest of demons at that. He had no power to resist.

He was in contact with his ship and shortly informed it was done.

Apophis opened his mouth to quickly speak before the Demon could but Xander was quicker.

"Hear me people and Jaffa of Apophis." Xander said loudly and with power. "I am Lord Xander, Champion of the Universe.

"Your god Apophis is a false god. A pretender. I serve the Goddess of the Universe. And the Creator. That which created all of us." Xander said.

Xander turned to Apophis.

"Apophis, I command you to tell them of your true nature. What are the origins of your species."

Apophis fought hard. But succeeded for only a microsecond as his mouth betrayed him.

"I am a low level demon. My kind are parasites. We can not survive outside of our water environment without hosts. We use the technology of those we possess."

"Other than possessing innocent people, what powers do you possess?" Xander asked.

Apophis was torn between fury and fear.

"None."

"You have heard the words from your own false god. And now I will show you the power _I_ command."

Xander turned to face Apophis again.

"Demon, I Lord Xander, Champion of the Universe, command you to leave the host."

The worm jumped into Xander's armoured fist.

The host collapsed.

"This is your so called god." Xander said as he crushed the struggling parasite.

"I claim the holdings, territories and armies of Apophis. Any who defy me will die." Xander declared. "I will not tolerate treason, abuse of my people or the innocent. You will learn to live better lives. You will help make the galaxy a place where your families can live in peace and happiness. Your children will grow up and marry and provide you with grandchildren for you to spoil.

"The price you pay though is that you will work your whole lives to fulfil this for your children. You will atone for the atrocities you have committed in the name of Apophis by helping to protect the planets I now control. By helping to rebuild the planets such as this one that the false god has defiled. And by freeing the galaxy from the Tyranny of the Goa'uld."

There was a sudden flash as zat blasts hit Xander from behind. When they had no effect staff blasts followed.

Xander turned to see a squad of six Jaffa that had snuck in.

Well, Xander let them sneak in. His motion sensors worked fine.

"Demons, come to me." Xander commanded.

The power of Xander's command was proven to the part of the galaxy Xander controlled as the parasites burst through the Jaffa's armour and all six landed in his open hand.

"Treason, is not tolerated." He said crushing the snakes.

He ignited his sword and there were suddenly six headless Jaffa.

"Next time I will allow the fools who defy me to die a slow death without their symbiote." Xander said firmly.

Xander ordered one of the Jaffa to approach the storage room where SG1 was hidden and request their presence.

He made sure to use the speaker system to warn them.

He also used it to call the Alternate Teal'c to him.

They arrived at the same time.

"Can I just say you really creep me out when you speak like a Goa'uld?" Jack grimaced.

"Creeps me out too, I don't do it intentionally." Xander shuddered.

Alternate Teal'c was shocked to see a version of himself working with the Taur'i.

"You are Shol'va?" He asked in shock.

Teal'c merely smiled. "Things progressed differently in our reality. The Taur'i gave me the opportunity to follow the teachings of Master Bra'tac. Lord Xander has given us the chance to truly be Free Jaffa. He holds the power, but he allows his Jaffa to govern themselves. He provides aid and advice when needed or requested. He holds much love and respect from his people."

Whoever this Master Bra'tac was he had also taught Alternate Teal'c.

"He still lives in your world?" He asked.

"He does." Teal'c nodded.

"That is good. He was discovered by Apophis and executed. He ordered me to bide my time." Alternate Teal'c turned to Xander. "My Lord many of the Jaffa under your command are students of Master Bra'tac and myself. Might I be allowed to address them?"

Xander glanced at his Teal'c who gave him a nod.

"Continue." Xander said as he stepped to the side.

"Hear me Jaffa, I the Former First Prime of the false god Apophis, pledge my allegiance to Lord Xander. With me stands a version of myself from an alternate reality. He brings word of our new Lord's deeds. More so, to the students of myself and Master Bra'tac, he brings word that his teachings were true." The armoured Jaffa said with obvious glee. "Spread those teachings amongst our brothers."

Alternate Teal'c cut the transmission.

"What are your commands my Lord?" He asked.

"We will need a report on the damage done to this world. Also of our assets around the galaxy.

"Is there a Stargate on the ship?"

"Yes My Lord." He responded.

"Excellent. Have the ship enter orbit and that Stargate," he gestured to the gate room, "deactivated. Place the Stargate on ship in the cargo bay so that in the event of an attack we can empty the atmosphere or even the gate."

The Jaffa were shocked. They had never heard of a tactic. They were also kicking themselves for not coming up with it.

Xander banished his armour and chuckled. "Don't worry, the Jaffa and Taur'i in my home reality were just as shocked at the idea."

"My Lord, you are so… young!" Alternate Teal'c said in shock.

Xander smiled. "And yet you still show me respect. You will be a good choice to be in charge Teal'c. My place is in my reality. I help where I am needed. But the people of each reality must be able to govern themselves. Learn for themselves. Unlike the Creator, I can not be everywhere at once."

Alternate Teal'c bowed. He understood that they were being given their freedom. Something many Jaffa desired.

"Gaia?" Xander asked.

"Greetings my Champion." Gaia said smiling happily as she appeared, startling the realities natives.

"My Lady." Xander greeted formally with a low bow.

Gaia always preferred to be on even keel with people, so she raised Xander and kissed his cheek. Smiling all the while.

Xander returned the smile. "My Lady this is Teal'c of this reality. Teal'c this is the Goddess Gaia. I figured it would be good for you to meet her in case the need arises and I am not around. I have chosen Teal'c to manage my holdings here and to oversee the rebuilding of this planet and the beginning of freeing this reality from the Goa'uld."

Gaia looked carefully at Teal'c as if weighing his worth. Truthfully she already knew his worth and his heart. But it helped to put on a show at times.

"A wise choice. I approve."

"Thank you My Lady." Alternate Teal'c said with a low bow.

Arrangements were made for Alternate Teal'c and Alternate George to begin rebuilding. The world leaders had been wiped out.

The current holdings of Lord Xander would be under his ultimate rule. Certain laws and rules had blanket coverage. But each planet and sub-region would have democratic governments to manage the day to day lives.

Gaia also gave them a crash course on how to use the Quantum Mirror.

Apparently someone had left the mute button on.

So now they could talk between realities too.

Each mirror was to be watched carefully, and well guarded. The President of the US in Xander's reality authorised a special division under Xander's direct command to monitor the mirror in case contact was required. They would also begin reaching out to other realities to warn them of the dangers and begin sharing information.

Alternate George arranged a similar deal, only it was the Jaffa who would do the monitoring.

Doctor Carter went off to meet the Asgard. An alliance was soon formed. Things seemed to move differently in the Alternate Reality as the Asgard were willing to help take the fight to the Goa'uld. Which was good as it left Xander with little to do.

Sam finally found time to corner Gaia and ask a question that had been bugging her.

"How can Xander take armies through the Quantum Mirror with them having a double in the same reality?"

"That is a failsafe to prevent people from trying to cross the boundaries." Gaia explained. "Anyone who is authorised by Xander or myself to cross the boundaries is automatically exempt."

"How do we get authorised?"

"The authorisation is implicit, especially if you are doing work for Xander. Crossing the boundaries is carefully monitored by myself. It does happen accidentally on occasion. If it does then I step in and correct it if necessary."

Xander spent a tiresome week moving between realities, bringing the alternate reality, the plans for the tech and tactics they had employed successfully in his native reality.

By the middle of the second week he was ready to flop into bed and not wake up for a month.

He made the mistake of dropping by the library at night to see the slayers and Giles being insulted by some British woman.

He needed a holiday.


	24. Chapter 24

Xander was sitting in a corner of the library as a bug listening to this woman, Gwen-something Post, berate Giles in his handling of the Slayers. He was disappointed that none of them had managed to slap her back down. If Oz was there he would have had her on her knees begging because she wasn't adequate, he must have been out patrolling.

Then she mentioned Lagos and this glove. Delta didn't have anything on Lagos so he wasn't categorised properly in Giles' books if he existed. He did have some stuff on the glove.

Then she continued to rag on Giles and his books. But then she had to ask how many cemeteries where in Sunnydale. Perfect, Xander saw his opening.

"Just so we're clear." Xander began as he appeared behind her minus the armour. "You have been ragging on Giles and _his_ Slayers. Complaining about his lack of books. But you haven't had the sense to do a simple check of the area to see simple things like where the cemeteries are and how many?"

For several seconds Mrs Post was flabbergasted. Lost for words. Then she composed herself.

"Who are you? This is a private meeting." She demanded.

"That would be a no then." Xander said. "Oh, and it's not the smartest thing in the world to hold a private meeting in a public space."

"Now Buffy." Xander said turning to the blond. "What is the Slayers full title?"

"The Vampire Slayer." She said perkily. This was much better now.

"Is she correct Miss Post?" Xander asked.

"It's _Mrs_ Post and yes she is correct. You still haven't told me who you are." She said haughtily.

"I'm me." He said with a shrug. "Faith, what is a Vampire Slayers primary prey?"

"Erm… vampires?" She said in her best dumb voice.

"Is she correct Mrs Post?" Xander asked again.

"She is, but you have not explained who you are!" She said getting flustered.

"Like I said, I'm me. Now Mr. Giles. Where does one primarily find vampires… according to the training you received at the Watchers Council?"

"One may find vampires in their graves located in cemeteries and places of internment as they rise from their graves or await the rise of their childe." Giles gave his textbook quote.

"Can I assume that is correct Mrs Post."

"Yes of course, obviously. What is your name!" She said angrily.

Xander turned and looked her straight in the eye and said. "I will tell you my name if you can tell me why it is you failed to research this town if you are to be stationed here for any amount of time?"

Post was opening and closing her mouth like a guppy.

"Hey Xander, been looking for you." Church said as he and Oz waltzed in.

Giles and the two Slayers sighed in exasperation.

Xander just rolled his eyes and smiled.

"I believe that answers that… Xander." Post said smugly.

"Actually, it's Lord Xander." Oz said frowning. You didn't need super senses to feel the tension. And this woman was not being treated as a friendly.

"Erm, who's the rookie?" Church asked as he slumped into a chair next to Faith.

"Thinks she's gonna be my new watcher." Faith groused.

"Retiring Giles?" Church asked.

"Of course not. The Council has apparently sent her to lighten the load and evaluate us all." Giles said sullenly.

Post was staring at Xander again doing an impression of a guppy… again.

"Has anyone checked her creds?" Church asked.

The Scoobs just looked at him.

"What? It's a legitimate question!" He defended.

"Yeah, but they didn't think of it." Oz smirked.

"Buffy, Giles, get her details and contact the Council and George." Xander ordered. "Mrs Post, I suggest you take a seat and stay put."

"I do not take orders from you!" She said indignantly.

"You do if you don't want to wind up in a cell some where. Or dead." Xander said simply.

Mrs Post was quick to find a seat.

"Ok, so there is this Lagos guy looking for a glove. There is no record in Giles' books of this guy, but the Council has been stonewalling us. The glove however we know where that is." Xander said.

"Where?" Mrs Post asked excitedly.

"In a local crypt." Xander said vaguely. "I will see to it that it is found and destroyed."

"It is my responsibility to see to its retrieval as a member of the Watcher's Council." She declared.

"Not in my town its not." Xander said firmly. "The Council has sent no word of your arrival or the glove. You have notified us of the danger and your services are no longer required. I will be dealing with the Council shortly." Xander said formally.

"That is unacceptable!" She raged.

"The alternative offers still stand." He said quietly.

"Very well. But you will be hearing from the Council about this!" She said as she got up to leave.

"Shouldn't someone follow her?" Oz asked.

"Yeah, Church, can you handle that?" Xander asked.

"Sure Xan. Just let Faith know I'm gone." He said as he left his body to follow the irate Englishwoman.

"Why would Faith need to know?" Xander asked Oz.

"A lot happened in the week you were gone. Most of it revolves around the fact that those two started dating." OZ cringed. "The language goes through the roof. I told them they aren't visiting the kids till they can tone it down."

Xander was shocked. "Wow! Never saw that coming."

"Shocked us too." Oz said.

"What about the whole robot thing?" Xander asked.

"As long as he's fully functioning she doesn't care." Oz said.

"Riiigght." He drawled. "I'll talk to the Asgard, see if they can't work out something a bit more natural."

"I'm afraid the Council is still not taking my calls, but George says that she is in the country legally." Giles said as he and Buffy exited the office.

Buffy and Faith slumped in their chairs. Faith leaning against Church's body.

"Erm, Faith? Church is… out." Xander said awkwardly.

Faith rolled her eyes and picked up the body taking it to Giles' office muttering. "Stupid men always leaving things lying around."

"I do wish she wouldn't leave it in there." Giles grimaced. "It's quite disturbing to find it sitting there lifeless."

"Where's the bitch?" Buffy asked.

"Buffy!" Giles exclaimed.

Buffy just looked at him.

"Fine, where is the bitch?"

Xander just laughed. "Sent her packing. Told her she wasn't welcome. Church is keeping an eye on her and Delta has sent the Jaffa to pick up the glove. The only notes we had were on the location and warnings… the main ones being no physical contact."

"Do you know where the references come from?" Giles asked as Faith returned.

"Yeah, I'll go get it." He said.

"Where is Church?" Faith asked.

"Xan sent him to follow Post." Oz said.

"Ah."

"Once the glove is dealt with I will ask Xander to implement the plans to confront the Council." Giles said. "It is bad enough that they got Alice killed, but now they are simply ignoring us." He said angrily banging on the table.

"Whoa what's with the hostility?" Xander asked returning with the book.

"Giles wants to deal with the Council after we deal with the glove." Faith said.

"Ok, I'll call the President and have him arrange to get us in with the Queen." Xander said as he handed the open book to Giles.

"Excellent." Giles turned to the book.

"So we're really gonna meet the Queen of England?" Faith asked excitedly.

"Possibly. It might just be me and Giles. I'll try and get you all in." Xander said carefully.

"You gonna talk about the Stargate?" Oz asked.

"Ryan and I discussed it. He figures it would be better coming from me than him." Xander sighed.

"He chickened out?" Buffy asked in disbelief.

"I vanished from his office making chicken noises." Xander grinned.

The others laughed at this.

"Aha!" Giles declared triumphantly. "All we need is a little living flame and we can destroy the glove."

"Well, you can start on that. I'll go check on the team and see if they have got the glove." Xander said as he vanished.

* * *

"Come on guys wake up!" Church shouted as knelt amongst the scattered bodies of the Jaffa.

"Church, what happened?" Xander asked as he arrived.

"Post, she was passing this cemetery and there was this demon. She muttered about Lagos and followed it. They came across the Jaffa. They already had the glove and the demon challenged them. Six Jaffa one demon, no sweat. But she did some voodoo and knocked them all out."

Xander called up the SGC and had the Jaffa transferred straight to the infirmary.

"Which direction did she leave in?"

"The school!"

"Jump in and lets get gone." Xander ordered.

They landed in the office and Xander shrieked.

Giles was right, seeing Church's body just sitting there was damned creepy.

Whilst Church got 'dressed', the others stormed the office to see what the fuss was.

"In the future, have the AI's transport his body to armoury or the mansion." Xander told Faith still holding his chest.

Faith rolled her eyes whilst muttering "wuss".

"Post took out the Jaffa and stole the glove. Church said she was headed here."

"So she comes, we beat her ass." Buffy shrugged.

"No, you lot head to the SGC whilst Church and I deal with her." Xander said slowly. "This is not a Slayer fight. This is something that can take out Oz."

"Whoa." Faith said with a small dash of fear.

"And you think you can handle it with Church?" Buffy demanded.

"She can't hit what she can't see and Church… is already dead. Technically." Xander said.

"You better not wreck your body mister." Faith growled whilst poking Church in the chest.

Giles meanwhile was herding them into the office for transport.

They vanished with a flash as Post burst through the doors. The glove firmly entrenched on her arm.

She saw the flash from the office.

"Fine, I will find them later. You are the one I want you insolent little toad!" She railed at Xander.

Both Spartan's dove out of the way of the incoming blast. Xander rolled into the office teleporting away to the opposite side of the library at the same time.

Armour on and invisibility active.

Now all he needed was a distraction.

Enter Church.

Church had jumped from his body mid-leap.

No one was sure why, but he could also go invisible. He could also find Xander even if the Champion was cloaked. Delta's explanation was usually along the lines of, "The Alpha was capable of many things." Not much of an explanation though. Regardless, he knew where Xander was and he was invisible. He just hoped that the _magic_ lightning wouldn't hurt his ghostly form.

"Where are you coward!" Post screamed.

She was definitely a candidate for the loony bin Xander mused.

"Hey now! Who are you calling coward?" Church cried appearing on her opposite side to Xander.

There was no hesitation as Gwendolyn Post raised her gauntleted hand blindly in the direction of the voice.

Nothing much happened though.

Then she noticed that her arm was a good deal shorter.

And missing the entire forearm and hand.

Lightning rained down, striking as she screamed, rendering her a charred mark on the library linoleum.

"I hate playing bait." Church muttered.

"That why you always made Caboose do it?"

"He didn't understand, he thought he was making new friends."

"Right, well go get your body and call the others back." Xander ordered. "I'm going to go speak to the President about the Council, this is the last straw."

* * *

The Queen was startled when a young man appeared in her private office with a bright flash. It didn't help that he had an antique sword strapped to his back.

She hit the alert button.

Nothing happened.

"Don't worry your Majesty, you are in no danger from me and neither is anyone else who works for you." The young man sat down in a chair across from her desk.

His accent revealed him as American. Despite his… interesting entrance.

"I do not appreciate uninvited guests." She said tightly.

"Unfortunately your government refused to hear the President. So I had to take matters into my own hands." He said as he sat back and crossed one leg over the other.

"And just who are you that you think you have the right to demand my time?" She demanded angrily.

"D'oh!" The young man exclaimed with a goofy grin. "My apologies. I am Lord Xander. I am the Champion of the Universe in the service of Gaia, the Goddess of the Universe."

The Queen gave him a jaundiced eye.

"Whether you believe me or not is irrelevant to my being here." Lord Xander said dismissively. "I am here because I was told you are the Head of the Watcher's Council."

This brought the Queen up short. No one in government knew of this. It was a purely royal role.

"I work with the Slayers and their Watcher."

The Queen smiled smugly at this. "You obviously don't as you would know that there is only ever one Slayer."

"You don't get reports from the Council?" He asked in shock.

"I receive very clear and concise accounts." She corrected.

"I doubt that." Xander snorted. He suddenly spoke into the air. "Send them in."

There was a bright flash and a middle aged gentlemen appeared accompanied by two young girls and a young boy.

"Your Majesty, allow me to introduce Doctor Rupert Giles. Current Watcher to Buffy Summers and her successor Faith Lehane, the Vampire Slayers. Also Oz, a Hound of God and my comrade at arms."

"I was told you died!" The queen exclaimed looking at Buffy.

"Just a little!" She whined.

"You as well Mr Giles!"

"Doctor Giles." Xander corrected.

"I apologise. That information, like their survival, was not presented to me." The queen said slumping into her chair.

"You were told we both died?" Giles asked.

"I was. And that the Slayer Kendra had been activated and then later died. And Miss Lehane was activated. Under the care of your sister I believe."

"You have been told of her fate then?" Giles asked stiffly, hugging a suddenly tense Faith.

"Fate?" She asked curiously. "I was told they were stationed in Boston."

"She was murdered by a master vampire. Faith made her way to the Hellmouth to gain aide from Doctor Giles. The dying wish of her Watcher." Xander explained.

"Hellmouth?" The Queen screeched in horror.

"They didn't tell you about the Hellmouth?" Giles asked in shock.

"I have no idea what you are referring to, it does not sound pleasant." She said feeling greatly out of her depth.

Xander and Oz exchanged a look and a nod.

"Your Majesty, Oz and myself can detect when a person lies. We both agree that you are truthful in your reactions. If I release the security hold on your people, could you arrange that we are not disturbed? You are perfectly safe and secure in our presence however." Xander requested.

The Queen considered this for a moment.

"I would prefer that you maintain your security for a while longer. The Council has some hand in the security arrangements and I would prefer we speak undisturbed whilst we discuss what other things have been kept from me."

Two hours later and the Queen had been brought up to speed.

They had been interrupted several times by servants and guards making routine checks. But the Queen had safe words that were not employed so they left with little fuss.

"The reports I have received were generally accurate with the identity of the current Slayer and her Watcher. But I was informed that they were merely dealing with minor vampire incidents and demon clans." The Queen sighed as she removed her glasses and sat back. "There was no mention of Master Vampires, Demonic Judges let alone a portal to hell. Not to mention no tale of the Champion of the Universe!"

"Ah, well, we haven't told the Council about Xander actually. At his and Lady Gaia's request." Giles said.

"And rightly so it would seem." She smiled slyly.

"At first Xander's concern was over Kendra. Unlike Buffy, she had no support system other than her Watcher. Who did not even accompany her to the Hellmouth.

"Then there was the death of my sister, with support she would have stood a chance.

"A young girl, even a supernaturally enhanced young girl, is no real match for a Master Vampire and his minions by herself." Giles reported.

"I've never had to face one on my own. My first Watcher, Merrick, died helping me." Buffy said sadly.

"Yes. The final straw however was Gwendolyn Post. Had the Council accepted my calls then they could have told us that she was a fraud." Giles said angrily.

"I quite agree Doctor Giles." The Queen said just as angrily.

She reached for her phone and asked for a call to be put through.

"Mr Travers. I require an emergency meeting to be called within the hour. I will arrive shortly."

"…"

"What do you mean 'not possible'!" She exclaimed.

"…"

"Very well." The Queen slammed the phone down.

"You are not the only one being stone walled." She said disgustedly.

The next call she made was for a car with no escort to be arranged for her and her guests.

"Your Majesty, is it wise for you to attend this yourself? I fear the lengths they might go to if they are willing to snub the Crown." Giles said worriedly.

"It is my hope that this is not as deep rooted as I fear. That it is only the upper council that has been corrupted. I am recognised as the head by all of the Council and they should react appropriately to my presence." She said as she called for her attendants.

"In that case, please wear this." Oz said removing his watch. "It will enable Lord Xander's people to take you away and keep you safe at the first sign of danger. It is likely that Giles, Buffy or Faith will accompany you. But Lord Xander's men are beyond reproach." Oz assured her.

* * *

When the door opened the young man on the other side was shocked to see the Queen and her unusual escort.

He was wise enough to bow low and stand aside.

The Queen ordered the young man to escort her to the Council Chambers.

"You are here for the meeting currently being held, Your Majesty?" The young man asked.

"We are indeed."

As they were escorted along, Xander whispered in the Queen's ear and whilst no one was looking vanished.

The young man escorting them did not pay enough attention to notice his absence, or the small fly following them.

The Council chambers were a stone affair. Wood couldn't withstand all the candles and burning that various spells required.

The members of the ruling body would sit on a raised circle surrounding a place where underlings and others would address them.

It was more a place of judgement than council

What shocked the Queen on entering was that her chair at the head of the council was occupied.

That was a treasonable offence.

"What is the meaning of this outrage Mr Travers?" She demanded.

Travers looked bored.

"It is such a shame that you had to go poking your nose where it was wanted. The country will mourn your loss, but it is your own fault." He said tiredly.

Giles was apoplectic.

"Her Majesty is the Head of this Council! You have no right to do anything without her say so!"

"Mr Giles, we are trying to do what is best for the world. Something you clearly forgot. Consorting with civilians, a lack of appropriate secrecy. Not to mention allowing her mother to find out.

"Her Majesty has served the country well. But she has no place in this world. It is our duty as Watchers to ensure that the Slayer does hers."

Travers had a distinct Crocodile Smile.

"But we do so thank you for bringing both of these pitiful excuses for Slayers here. We can finally be done with them and activate a true model Slayer."

"You're going to kill us?" Buffy asked in horror.

"See what I mean?" Travers said in exasperation. "It doesn't even know its place!"

"It!" Buffy screeched.

Travers suddenly stood and said a few choice words, which were not English. And the _other_ reasons for the Council being primarily stone was revealed.

Two stone creatures melted from the wall and began to approach the Watcher, two Slayers, Werewolf and The Queen. Giles immediately grabbed the Queen dragging her behind the three fighters and hoping that Xander would have a way out.

"I believe use of those escape methods would be prudent Doctor Giles." The Queen noted.

"Unfortunately they don't seem to work in here. But don't worry, these three should be more than enough to handle the stone creatures." He assured her.

Oz stayed back letting the two Slayers handle the stone creatures. He did not want to reveal himself unnecessarily.

Unfortunately the two stone creatures were more than the slayers could handle.

Xander dropped to the floor in his camouflaged armour and Church had a whack.

It seemed that the creatures where fairly mindless and Church easily managed to control one and destroy the other.

Which of course meant they now had a stone creature to aid them.

The Queen turned to speak to Council, but Travers got there first.

"Yes, I know. You think we are committing treason. But you are the one standing in the way of our work." He raged suddenly.

Xander had had enough. These guys had clearly lost the plot. He couldn't tell if they were insane or just evil. He didn't really think there was a difference.

He de-cloaked.

The Council was suddenly very afraid.

Travers was just as stupid.

A few more words and the group found themselves unable to move.

"I do not know nor care who you are. But you are just like the rest of them. The Watchers Council has existed for centuries. em_We/em_ command the Slayers. We will not allow anyone to interfere."

Unfortunately it seemed that the rest of the Council were not up for killing their monarch. They were seemingly shocked by Travers actions.

"Quentin, have you lost your mind!" One man demanded. "You are talking about cold blooded murder… of two young girls and our Queen!"

"I am talking about protecting the Council and it's assets."

"Not like this Quentin. We agreed that her Majesty had no place here as she knew nothing of what we did, but clearly that does not seem to be the case." He argued. "Now release them and cease this madness!"

"I think not. It seems you have forgotten your place. I am the head of the Council. I decide what actions the Council must take." Travers declared.

"Actually, I am the head of the Council. I have not relinquished my post nor have I been challenged." Her Majesty said.

Xander by this point was fed up so he walked up to Travers much to the mans astonishment.

"How can you move? No man should be able to resist that magic." He said in shock. Oz meanwhile was attempting to move the captive members of the group but they seemed to be stuck. Only his protections from magic as a Hound of God seemed to protect him.

Xander didn't answer, he simply ignited his sword, Travers hands fell to the floor with a thump. His head soon followed.

"Remove this creature from my sight." Xander demanded. "And someone release Her Majesty and my friends."

"I'm afraid we do not know how to remove it. It is not part of the spells built into the room." The man who had objected pointed out.

Xander sighed. "Very well. Gaia?"

"Xander, another interesting situation you got yourself into." Gaia noted with a smirk.

Xander just grumbled under his breath about it being part of the job _she_ gave him. Xander straightened up and assumed a formal pose. "My Lady Gaia, my companions are trapped within magical restraints. I request your aid in releasing them."

"Done." She said with a shrug.

"Thank you." Xander said with a bow. "Now we just have to deal with these morons who supported this mess," he kicked the remains of Travers, "in illegally removing the Queen as head of the Council."

"Lady Gaia, is it true that Lord Xander is essentially immortal?" The Queen asked.

"It is." Gaia responded neutrally.

"I would ask that you take control of the line of Slayers, place them in Lord Xander's care. I will see that the Council continues to fight the darkness and offer aid to Lord Xander. But I fear what will happen when I pass on or someone else decides to remove me. Lord Xander has proven himself to me and clearly has the trust of two slayers. I believe it to be in their best interests."

Gaia was a little thrown by this. The Slayers were champions of the Fallen. But every Champion had free will. Even Xander could change allegiances.

In some ways it was supposed to be a sideways move. The Fallen were supposed to be on the side of light. They just, had a weird way of doing things.

"What do you two think of this?" Gaia asked the two Slayers.

"Hell yeah!"

"Definitely."

They exclaimed with passion.

"Xander?" She asked her Champion.

"It won't change much will it?" He asked.

"As Her Majesty says, it merely ensures that the Slayers are under your command and protection for as long as you live. You won't have to worry that the person who comes after the Queen is as bad as this one." She said looking down at the bloody mess.

"Didn't I ask for someone to clear that up?" Xander growled. Still being in his armour made him quite fearsome.

The response was that the elderly men of the Council scurried about trying to pick up pieces of Watcher without getting blood on themselves.

They were soon alone in the Council room.

Xander sighed and slumped into the nearest chair.

"Ok, I'll take the responsibility for the Slayers Line. But they will be under the direct command of Oz and answer to him."

Oz's eyebrows hit the roof.

"You hate me that much?"

Xander just chuckled. "I have the command of so many other things and responsibilities in every reality. I think you can handle ensuring that each Slayer lives her life well and is taken care of."

When he put it like that, it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Fine, but I'll need some government help, need to be able to keep them legal so they can still be girls." He conceded.

"That will be my role, Lord Oz. It is my duty as head of the Council. And a service I can supply even if the Slayers are out of my hands."

"It's just Oz your Majesty." Oz said sheepishly.

"Lord Xander maybe a Lord appointed by the Goddess Gaia and the Creator, you however will be Lord under English law. Not quite the same I admit, but it should aid you well enough in your dealings." She smiled.

"See, everything worked out." Xander grinned.

"So when we get married, will that make me Lady Buffy?" She asked coyly.

"Oh no! Don't tell Willow." Xander cried. "She still moans about having to deal with Lady Useless on Halloween!"

Buffy just pouted and stuck out her tongue.

The Queen took this in stride and found it amusing. They might be young for saving the world. But they certainly weren't jaded.

Gaia and Xander suddenly vanished.

Only to be replaced by a hulking blond with wings dressed in white and practically glowing.

When the Queen saw the others bow, she thought it wise to follow suit.

"At ease my friends." The man smiled.

"Your Majesty, this is the Archangel Michael." Giles introduced.

The Queen was shocked.

Sure, she had met Gaia. But she had presented herself as a young human female. This man presented himself as a creature of power.

"Xander and Gaia have been called into the presence of the Almighty. I have been sent in Xander's stead to ensure your safety. He shall not be gone long." The man said as his glow faded and his wings folded back.

Suddenly he was standing there in a long coat looking like a large human. Not a powerful winged being.

* * *

As soon as Xander saw God and several others he dropped to his knees. This looked very formal.

Probably a good thing as Gaia did the same.

"Rise my children." God said. "Whilst you are here, worry not. Michael is personally seeing to the safety of your friends."

Xander and Gaia slowly stood. Xander was slightly worried as God was being formal.

The Metatron was present, surrounded by several angels. Hades and some others, that Xander assumed were other gods, were there also.

On the opposite side was what could only be described as 'Grey Angels'. They had the physical styling of Michael and his kind. But they did not glow white, but an eerie grey.

"Lord Xander, I am sure you recognise Hades and his brother and sister gods, as well as the angels." She explained. "The others are the Fallen."

The Grey Angels bristled at that.

So that explained it. Unfortunately they were making Xander's skin crawl. They were showing no respect. They were behaving like the Goa'uld did at the negotiations.

Xander wanted nothing more than to go over and force them to kneel before God like he had Whistler.

But he forced himself to behave. There were a host of angels present. Anyone of them would have already done the same had they been allowed.

Hades seemed to sense his thoughts and gave him an approving smile and nod.

God turned to Xander. "You are doing well Xander, don't worry."

She returned to her original position between the heavenly beings and the Fallen.

She gave a nod to the Metatron who stepped forward to speak.

"Lord Xander, Lady Gaia. You have been called here today because the Fallen," again with the bristling, "have accused you of purposely stealing their line of Champions, the Slayers and destroying their guardians, the Watchers.

"What is your response to this?"

Xander was confused. Sure it made sense that the Fallen would be pissed. But that didn't mean they had rights over free will. Plus he didn't see a point to the proceedings, as God knew everything, so she knew already what the truth was.

"Could I ask them what their definition of 'stealing' and 'destroying' is?" He asked.

This seemed to bring the Fallen up short not to mention surprise the Metatron.

The other gods were snickering quietly.

Xander was just wishing Oz were here. Xander dealt with the more physical side of problems like tactics and such. Oz was the negotiator. Which was weird considering how little he spoke.

Eventually one of the Fallen stepped forward and declared. "You have purposely stolen the Slayer line from us and destroyed their Guardians." Having made his point he stepped back with a triumphant smirk.

Xander however was confused.

"Erm, was that an accurate definition? I know I'm a mere mortal an' all, but isn't that what the Metatron said?"

God was smirking away. "No Lord Xander it was not." She turned to address the Fallen. "Lord Xander stands here as an equal to yourselves. Mortal he may be. But 'mere' he is not. Answer his question."

The Fallen deflated at this as the gods and angels had to turn away to smother their grins.

A different Fallen approached this time. A female. Or as female as they could get.

"You have taken our property without permission. You have killed the Watchers." She stepped back again. This time not quite so certain she had made her point.

"Ok, I didn't 'take' the Slayers. They came to me and asked to join me. I admit I accepted them."

"AHA!" The first fallen cried triumphantly.

"SILENCE!" The Metatron bellowed. The face of God was furious.

"Continue Xander." God said having reigned in her anger.

"Er, I killed one Watcher who had illegally usurped the position of the Head of the Council from the true Head. But I only killed him as he was a mage and was attacking the true head and threatened to kill my friends… which happened to include a Watcher, two Slayers, a Hound of God and the Head of the Council." He added quickly.

"He has clearly admitted to the charges." The original fallen said again. "We demanded his death."

Xander's eyebrows shot up at this. The heavenly host however was suddenly filled with the sound of swords being drawn.

"Care to reconsider?" The Metatron asked smugly.

"We… erm… we demand justice?" He tried again.

"Better." The Metatron said.

"Lord Xander has done no wrong. The Line of Slayers have exercised the Right of Free Will. Had you taken measures to ensure they were treated better then they would not have requested to be accepted under his banner." God said.

"They are mortals, they do as they are told. It is not for them to question the actions and motives of higher beings." The Fallen's chief spokesmen said.

"And that is why I am glad they are under Lord Xander's care. You have forgotten that you are supposed to be amending your ways. You are failing. Humans are not lesser beings. They are merely different. It is not your place to rule them or your Champions. You make requests of them. Guide and nurture them." She admonished.

"But he has stolen the Slayers from us!" The Fallen tried again.

"If you wish to delude yourself into thinking that, then that is your choice. Just don't expect the rest of us to allow ourselves to be deluded.

"We all saw what happened. We heard Lord Xander's testimony."

"But what will we do without our primary champion?" The female spoke up.

"You will seek out new Champions. But you are now forbidden from choosing humans. Just be sure you treat your Champions appropriately. It would not do for them to leave you again." God warned.

The Queen had been ruthlessly grilling the Archangel, Slayers, Watcher and… Werewolf.

To be honest she had not laughed so hard in a long time. The exploits of these children were astounding. Yet they managed to laugh at themselves.

They were interrupted once or twice by various Watchers but the Queen sent them packing saying they would call for them when they were ready.

Gaia soon returned holding up a somewhat shaky Xander.

"What happened?" Michael asked in concern.

"She sent them packing. Stupid morons wanted to blame Xander for stealing the Slayer Line and apparently destroying the Watchers."

Gaia helped Xander sit down.

"Unfortunately they are very hostile. It's a good job you weren't there. Xander was having trouble stopping himself from smacking them down for their insolence to God. He held his peace though."

Michael smiled proudly and slapped Xander on the back.

Who promptly threw up.

"Oh dear, is he ill?" The Queen asked.

"No, because of the hostility shown by the Fallen, God decided to activate a few new abilities in Xander. He's just adjusting."

"He don't normally get sick when that happens, does he?" Faith asked.

"No, but he has a major headache. He will be out of commission for at least a week. He has the ability to answer a call, just like when I come when he calls.

"The problem is he needs to filter out the general mentions of him from the…" Xander suddenly vanished. "actual calls for help." She finished.

"I take it someone called?" Buffy asked.

"Probably. Michael could you keep an eye on him. I can't interfere." Gaia sighed.

Michael vanished and Gaia turned to the Queen.

"Whilst we wait for Xander and Michael to return, lets finish dealing with the Council."


	25. Chapter 25

"Urgh, guys make it quick, what's up?" Xander asked rubbing his head.

SG1 were in shackles lined up along a lake shore.

Teal'c was standing on the edge of a small jetty with a hood on his face, hands and feet bound and weighted.

A fat overweight man with more finery than any of the other people gathered seemed to have was speaking.

"Archangel, Saint Michael, defend us in battle. Thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl upon the Earth. Amen."

He then pushed him into the lake.

"Save Teal'c!" Daniel screamed.

As Xander vanished Michael appeared.

"Who called my name!" He demanded fiercely. He was in full heavenly garb and shining very brightly.

Needless to say the whole village dropped to their knees. Although the fat man just stared at him.

The next second Xander was standing next to SG1 in full armour holding up Teal'c.

He lay the Jaffa down and set up his healing generator. He then set about breaking the chains on SG1.

"DEMON!" The fat man screamed pointing at Xander.

"You dare accuse a holy warrior of the Almighty of being a demon!" Michael raged.

"But-but-but… look at him!" He screeched. "He looks like a demon!"

"And you look like a fat, greedy glutton. But you don't hear me shouting such accusations!" Michael retorted.

The fat man looked very insulted at that.

Michael ignored the man and turned to Xander and SG1. "Is Teal'c well?"

Xander banished his armour. "He'll be fine in a few seconds. Apparently he was beaten pretty badly."

"Lord Xander, I request that you take this planet under your protection." Michael requested formally.

"The Good Book speaks of no such being called 'Lord Xander'!" The fat man squealed.

"And just how old is the Good Book?" Michael demanded as he rounded angrily on the man.

"Many thousands of years." He said haughtily.

"Then don't you think, you moronic simpleton, that certain things might have happened since then? Something tells me you aren't in the book, and you certainly aren't older than 50 years at the most!"

"Erm… er… Lord Michael?" Jack struggled for the correct honorific.

"Colonel O'Neill, a pleasure to meet you again. It is always a heartache to find people such as this one who do evil in the name of the Almighty." Michael said with a sad smile.

"Having met the Almighty, I can definitely say that it is even more personal to me now." Jack agreed. "Just thought you should know that the Canon there, has a ring. Calls down lightning."

Michael spun back round.

"You stupid fool. You not only lead these poor souls in your heresy but you use the tools of demons to enforce your will." Michael had gone straight back up to livid.

"Your crimes are abominable. Your punishment is death. Hades will not have you. But Lucifer might." Michael swung his sword cleaving the mans head in two. From top to bottom.

Michael turned away from the corpse of the fat Canon and headed over to SG1.

"I expect this one will cause at least two jumps on Xander's score board?" Michael grinned.

"Oh har de har." Jack said scowling.

"Why is Xander looking so… green?" Sam asked.

"There were some problems back home. He will be fine in a week or so. Try not to get into trouble till then. I will see him back to Gaia. Please ensure that some of Xander's Jaffa come to help stabilize the locals." Michael said.

"Sure. Gotta plan a fight with an Unas first. Seems to be working for Sokar." Jack said.

"An Unas? You have access to your weapons?" Michael asked.

"Yeah." Jack said.

"Then it will be fine. Unas are relatively slow. Attack from medium range. That way you can chase it down if it runs." Michael advised. Then he vanished grabbing Xander for the ride.

SG1 just looked at each other.

Jack shrugged and wondered off to the villagers.

"Oh Simon!" He sang.

* * *

Xander was saved from minor call outs. There were a few early issues but once everyone was told Xander could now respond to a summons but needed to adjust first, they quickly calmed down.

The Scoobies and SGC were surprised to find out that God had activated Xander's ability to travel between dimensions.

She felt the Fallen required a little more of an example of how much they screwed up by giving Xander free reign throughout various dimensions. He had no authority, but he now had the ability and right to travel across dimensions as much as the heavenly host could.

Hades had taken up Xander's training in dimensional travel as his realm was a different dimension and he was very happy to have Xander visit.

It was a rather shell-shocked Xander that returned to the library one Thursday evening.

"Xander, you look like you've seen a ghost!" Giles commented, a little worried, the boy had just gotten to grips with being able to be summoned. "You em_didn't/em _see a ghost? Did you?"

You had to be cautious on a Hellmouth.

"Xander?" Buffy asked.

He was just sitting there.

"Yo Xan!" Faith said lobbing a book at him.

"OW!" It got his attention.

"Thank you Faith." Giles sighed.

"You ok Xander?" Willow asked.

"I suppose." Xander sighed. "I met someone today. A reunion of sorts." Xander said leaning back. He was still trying to wrap his mind around it. "Jesse."

Now Willow went white.

"He's a back as a vampire?" She asked in horror.

"What? No!" Xander exclaimed. "I was training with Hades. He took me to his realm. Where the dead go that don't deserve heaven or hell." He exclaimed.

"Jesse didn't make it to heaven?" Willow asked, tears in her eyes.

"Don't worry Wills, heaven is for people like… I dunno, the Saints like Peter and John. But Hades realm is… he called it a better version of Utopia." Xander smiled as he remembered. "Jesse is very happy. Says that if you make it to Heaven to come visit him."

"The Realm of the Dead is a lot like Earth. Just no disease, no hunger, no money… Star Trek without the Klingons and Romulans." Xander tried to explain. "Let me put it to you this way. If you feel you need to fear dying, that is fine. But you have no need to fear death."

"Then… why do we need to worry about the Hellmouth opening?" Faith asked.

"Ah! Let me answer that!" Gaia said as she suddenly appeared in a surprised Xander's lap. "If the Hellmouth opens, then all of my domain, across _all_ realities, will become a part of Hell. All current residents of my domains will become tormented souls of Hell… there is no escape, no fighting back… even a glimpse of Hell would drive you completely insane, just as sure as hearing God's voice would kill you.

"And, no. You can't die in Hell and then wind up in the underworld. There is no death in Hell, only torture beyond imagination." She finished with a shudder causing Xander to pull her against him in a hug.

"Right… death good… Hellmouth bad." Buffy said with a shudder.

Xander and the gang were pensive over the next few days. The realization that the afterlife was waiting for them, and that it was a good thing, was kind of hard to swallow.

* * *

They were jolted out of their funk one Saturday when the Scoobies and SGC… and a rather shocked Queen of England and President of the United States found themselves in the Bronze.

The SGC was quick to surround the Queen and President and assume a defensive zone.

The only attack was the combined cries of 'surprise' from Gaia, Hades, Michael (and pitiful moan) the Metatron.

This earned a smack from the Almighty as everyone dropped to their knees.

"Oh pack it in." The Voice moaned. "Won't be much of a party with you all on the floor."

"Party?" Cordelia perked up.

"It is Ale-OW, I mean Xander's birthday." The Voice reminded them as he was 'corrected' by God.

"It is?" Jack asked.

Willow was mortified. "It is! I can't believe we forgot!"

"We have been busy, Wills." Xander assured her.

"We've been twiddling our thumbs for the past two weeks whilst researching the Mayor." Giles exasperatedly.

"See, busy. Takes a lot of work to move those thumbs correctly." Xander remarked.

"Enough talk. Dancing time!" Gaia cried as she grabbed Xander and danced to the music that suddenly began.

"Do you have to sound like Caboose when you say that?" Xander grinned.

"I do not! You take that back." She said in mock horror.

God meanwhile had grabbed a stunned Willow and was dancing into a frenzy.

General Hammond had assured the Queen that she was perfectly safe and that it was unlikely that her presence would be missed. God had arranged the party after all.

Joyce was very flustered at being in the same room as the Queen of England and the President. But Jack O'Neill pointed out that she had already been in the same room as God. She felt a bit silly after that. Although the Queen chastised him for being mean. Then went off snickering with the rest of the ladies.

"Congratulations Jack." Daniel said slinging an arm around his friends shoulder. "You've gone from starting intergalactic incidents to incidents in our own back yard."

"What's next for our intrepid leader?" Sam quipped.

"Knowing my luck, inter-dimensional incidents." George muttered as he headed over to the buffet God had made.

Much dancing was had by all. Everyone danced with everyone… of the opposite sex. Except the girls who don't seem to have the same inhibitions as guys when it comes to dancing.

That and the Almighty dragged them all out.

She somehow managed to convince the Queen to dance to a ballroom tune once. But then… who exactly is going to deny the Almighty?

Eventually the party died down. On advice from Hades, Gaia and Xander. The Queen was to contact the President the next day and ask to meet with General Hammond and himself. The explanation being… God said to.

The party guests were sent home to resume whatever they were doing.

All that was left were the Scoobies, two gods, two angels and the supreme ruler of all existence… and then some.

"I err… have to steal Xander." Gaia said blushing slightly as she vanished grabbing his hand.

"Well it's about bloody time." The Metatron groused.

"Problem?" Oz asked.

"No, our dear Gaia is about to confess her feelings and the future to young Xander." Hades explained.

"Ah." Oz said.

"About bloody time." Giles concurred.

* * *

Gaia had brought Xander back to the river where she had first brought him. They hadn't been back in ages.

"Ok, so there are some things I have to tell you." Gaia said as she turned away from Xander. Nervous would be an understatement.

"I love you." She said bluntly.

Xander just stared at her.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" She demanded eventually.

"I love you too?" Xander asked with a smirk.

"I'm serious Xander." She said tiredly as she plopped down on the grassy floor.

Xander sat down opposite her.

"I know. So am I." He told her with a small smile. "Didn't at first. Found you attractive and very much had you on top of my 'wish I could date you list', but I figured you were… out of my league." Xander told her.

"What changed?" She asked.

"I'm not really completely clueless about women. You have a body that is pretty much human. You cry when you're sad. Your heart races when excited. Your pupils contract when you look at a light. So I knew you liked me when your heart sped up when you came near me. You'd sigh contentedly when we touched. Your pupils dilated when you looked at me. If you could love me, then why shouldn't I be allowed to love you?"

Gaia just stared at him. Mouth hanging open.

Xander smiled and lifter her jaw to close her mouth. "I know that you're a goddess and I'm just a mortal champion. But I figured that if Hades felt it necessary to threaten me with his own personal torments if I broke your heart then I was probably allowed to try and make it work with you." He grinned.

"THAT LITTLE FINK!" Gaia screamed.

Xander just chuckled.

"When did he tell you?" She demanded.

"Last week. Said I wasn't allowed to do anything till you made the first move." He said scratching his ear.

"I'm gonna kick his but." She growled. "So that's how you knew?"

"Nope, known for a while. He just confirmed it." Xander said. "Oz was the one who convinced me with logic."

Xander held out his arms and Gaia moved to sit back into them as Xander hugged her.

"You know there are more things I need to tell you?" She told him.

"There always is." He muttered.

"Xander, I've been waiting for you since before time began. That is when She pointed you out to me. You already know that as a goddess I don't exist in time the same way mortals do. So I have seen some of the future. And you were the future I saw.

"You aren't destined to be just my Champion. You are destined to be my partner. My husband. As an equal."

Gaia took a deep breath and moved around to look at him.

"You are destined to become a god."

Xander hadn't been expecting that.

He had hoped there might be a way for him and Gaia to be together. Maybe even forever. But the fact that he was due to become like Gaia and Hades. It was confusing.

"What does that mean?" He asked.

Granted Gaia had amazing powers. She was close to God. She could enter Heaven at will. But what did it mean for him.

"From your point of view? Not much of an improvement. The more powers that are unlocked, the less you will be allowed to take direct action.

"It's one of the reasons we encouraged you to build a following. The Jaffa warriors will eventually have to do most of the work on your behalf."

"In other words, I'm going to experience what you did?" He asked glumly.

"Not quite." She said with a soft smile. "You will always have your armies. I had nothing, until I had you, just a few scattered practitioners."

Xander hugged her tightly. There always seemed to be a downside.

"When will this happen?"

"No idea. It could be within the next ten years, a century, a thousand years… no idea. She isn't sharing on the timetable."

"We don't have to hold off… dating… till then do we?" Xander asked suddenly very worried.

Gaia giggled. "No, it has no bearing on us. You will now experience a few… passive changes. You are more indestructible than Oz, but still killable. But you can outlive your armour now. You'll just need it for things like additional strength and invisibility."

"So I don't have to keep putting it on all the time?" He asked.

"Nope, bullets will now just bounce off of you, but you are technically human, so drugs and other stuff might affect you… just not magic." She grinned.

"Thank goodness. It gets a little dicey when doing a first contact and they see me in my armour!" Xander griped. "Is that it?"

"Your memory will be improved slightly. You need to be able to remember and differentiate between the various realities and dimensions. That's about it."

"So basically I just keep doing what I've been doing but be slightly more active acquiring the armies and whatnots of the guys I defeat and helping them as they need it?" He asked.

"Yes. You don't need to be anymore active in governing them but adding to their numbers would be good."

"Is any of this… secret? Ya know, classified?" He asked.

Gaia smiled. "No, none of what we discussed is secret. Some is private, but your goals and mission are not. Neither is your future god-hood."

"Well, that will make it easier." Xander sighed.

Xander pushed Gaia away slightly so he could her in the eye.

"So, would you go on a date with me?" He grinned sheepishly.

* * *

News of Xander's impending god-hood was met with shock.

Jack at first had to quell his own reactions. He had to explain it wasn't Xander becoming a god that troubled him, but the fact that it em_sounded/em_ like someone claiming to be a god. Part of his own hatred for the Goa'uld.

Jack assured him that he had no problem with Xander becoming a god. He just had to deal with his own instinctual responses.

The Queen having had a full tour of the SGC and some of Xander's ships and worlds was not surprised.

She said it was a simple and logical progression.

"Having met both Gaia and Hades, not to mention the time I spent with your friends and Archangel Michael, it seemed obvious that you would one day join either the ranks of the gods or ranks of the angels.

"I am mildly surprised that you didn't become an angelic warrior. Having seen and heard of your work, it seemed more likely. I think though, that it might have more to do with your role of gathering followers that is pushing you to godhood."

During her tour, Jack had asked how she got past her security detail.

"I asked Lord Xander to collect me from my office and employ the same security details as when he first approached me. Only my personal assistant and head of my guard know I am gone. Sometimes secrecy is the best protection."

This was something the Colonel could understand. No one knew when the President visited the SGC.

Having spoken with Sayel about his impending godhood. The loyal Jaffa was overjoyed, wanting to declare a holiday and celebration.

They already felt they served a true god through Xander in the service of Gaia. But the fact that Creator was due to elevate his status was even better.

The Tok'ra, however, were much more wary when he met with their council to inform them. Like Jack they had huge reservations regarding anyone calling themselves a 'god'. They were used to Gaia, but still had to fight hundreds of years of instincts and thought of her as just a powerful being.

"Do the same for me." Xander suggested after Martouf had explained. "Don't think of me as a god. Just the same ol' Xander. Besides, the way Gaia tells it, I'll have more restrictions as a god. I can't interfere personally. I will need my people to work for me. Kinda why I want to get as much done as possible so they don't have to do much."

Martouf promised to remind the Council that he would still be Xander.

* * *

Garshaw approached Xander after the Council meeting.

"I seem unable to make any progress with Liam. His attitude is such that I can not in good conscience ask a Tok'ra to blend with him, even temporarily."

"He's that bad?" Xander asked in shock.

"We had to place him in a guarded cell." Garshaw said as she led him to Liam.

Liam, it seems, was not happy to Xander.

"What do you want boy?" He growled.

"You are aware that I'll have to kill you if you can't change your attitude?" Xander asked.

"We both know you won't touch me. Not whilst I'm human." Liam scoffed.

Xander didn't bother correcting him. He indicated Garshaw should follow him. They stopped once they were round the corner.

"He seems worse than Angelus, and nothing like Angel." Xander mused.

"He is worse than most Goa'uld." Garshaw noted.

"Hold him for now. I need to go and seek advice from Gaia, and possibly the Almighty." Xander said.

Garshaw nodded and Xander vanished.

* * *

Xander managed to teleport into the white space, or holy place as Xander though of it. God and Gaia were waiting for him.

"I'm guessing there was a catch with making Liam human?" Xander asked.

"It's not really Liam." Gaia said.

"They stuck Angelus in a human body with a soul?" Xander asked.

"There had to be a balance." God said. "And they had no right to remove Liam and place him unwillingly back in the body of a vampire, Hades was very upset when the Gypsies did it the first time."

"And even Hitler had a soul." Xander mused. "Is there any solution beyond locking him up or killing him?"

"You could ask Liam to return. He would need to be a vampire. And he would once again answer to the Fallen." God suggested.

"Is he needed? I don't like the guy, but I wouldn't want to pull someone from their rest." Xander said with a grimace.

"I can't tell you that." God said with a small smile.

"Could we at least lock his soul in place?"

"Of course. It is only the Gypsy magic that made the souls hold so tenuous." Gaia said.

"I assume the decision is down to me?"

"You have full authority to do as you feel is necessary." God said with a firm nod.

Xander ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"Ok, I assume Liam is actually in Hades' Realm?"

"Yes, he was not destined for Hell, and certainly not for Heaven." God told him.

"Right, I better go see Hades and we can have a talk with him." Xander said as he waved goodbye and vanished.

He reappeared a second later and planted a kiss on Gaia's cheek. "Don't forget our date tonight!"

And vanished again.

"So." God said with a huge grin. "Date?"

* * *

"So Angelus is out there now in my old body, using my name?" The real Liam asked as Hades and Xander spoke to him.

"Pretty much." Xander said.

The real Liam was much more like Angel. Which made sense as he _was_ Angel.

"And you are offering me the chance to leave here and become a vampire, _still_ not be with or see Buffy and be in the service of the angels who joined Lucifer in rebelling against God?"

"Not much of an offer, but yeah. That's the deal." Xander confirmed.

"Ok, I'm in." He said with little pause.

"Are you nuts?" Xander asked.

"You really think I'll let that asshole mess with what little reputation I have?" Liam asked incredulously. "I know it's not the most ideal solution. But you said my soul will be anchored properly, right?"

"Yep, God's going to use the Holy Super Glue." Xander grinned.

Liam rolled his eyes whilst Hades snorted a laugh.

"Anyway," he said tiredly. "It's not like I'm going to be denied some happiness. But I will be working on making up for getting turned in the first place."

"Ok, well, lets get this done. Just so you know. I'll be sending some of my warriors with you to keep an eye on things and assist you. I'll refrain from sending Gary with you for now." Xander said. "Oh, and I'll be having words with the Fallen about making sure they treat you right."

The switch was seamlessly made. Angelus was sent to hell. Liam was returned to the 'living' in his vampire body.

* * *

Xander was now standing in the Holy Place addressing the Fallen. Gaia, God and Hades were present.

"Liam is back on Earth and under your charge. You will make sure to support him properly and ensure that he is informed of his duties. If you fail, I will deal with you myself." Xander said fiercely. "I'll not have you making another debacle like the Slayers."

"We will not be spoken to in this manner!" The lead male said. "We are the Powers That Be. We decide what is best for our Champions, not some mere mortal with delusions of grandeur!"

"Lord Xander, as has been told to you before, is no mere mortal." God said. "He is only mortal now. But he holds the authority of a god. In the coming days he will take up the full mantle of godhood."

The Fallen were shocked. No one had _ever_ been made into a god. Not even angels. And this mortal not only was going to become one but knew it too. This was a whole different matter. They had already lost any chance for manipulation.

"As far as the rest of us our concerned," Hades added, "Xander is one of us. He need only ask, and he will have myself, Gaia and the entire Host of Heaven at his back. So try and remember your place."

Nothing more was said by the Fallen as God sent them away from her presence.

Xander was having a hard time with something God had said. He would take up the full mantle of godhood in the coming days.

Coming days.

That did not sound like a long time off. His people weren't ready for him to leave them yet. The Slayers especially.

A hand suddenly came to rest on Xander's shoulder, breaking him from his pondering.

"Don't worry, you have plenty of time. Coming days is just a phrase." God assured him.

"Still, I'm going to make sure that the tech divisions get to work a lot harder. They need to fill the gap when I leave." Xander said.

"Well, you have plenty of time. For now you and Gaia can go and enjoy your date. Jack and his team will let Garshaw know what has happened." She said sending them off.

* * *

After leaving the presence of God, Xander headed down to Los Angeles where Liam was currently waiting for him.

"Are you sure you want me so close to Sunnydale? Aren't there other hotspots worse than LA?" Liam asked as Xander appeared.

"Consider this me trying to show you an element of trust." Xander shrugged. "The only reasons I don't like you are because of the lies you told about what happened in the Master's cave, the fact that you refused to actively help out and that you slept with an under-aged girl."

"Yeah, not exactly proud of those myself." Liam muttered. "Some thing's different though, I feel… lighter, like I can actually be happier. Also, I can't feel the evil in me."

"Yeah, that's because the gypsies shoved you into the vampire body _with_ the blood demon, they didn't remove it. The blood demon is currently receiving some _very_ personal attention in Hell." Xander smirked. "Well, I am off. The Jaffa will be down in about an hour to take you to your new digs. They have been setting it up and getting used to life on Earth since… the demon was sent back. Call if you need me."

* * *

It was a warm night. The moon was full and reflected perfectly off Lake Superior. The food was delicious. It was the perfect midnight picnic.

Gaia was radiant as usual. But she had been done up by the girls especially. Xander had also been dressed up… by the girls. They had refused to entertain the idea of him dressing himself for this date. Everything was perfect.

Except for the water demon that decided to try and snack on them. Some kind of bi-pedal creature with tentacles instead of arms and lots of fins. It lasted about 6 seconds from the time Xander saw it to its head rolling from its slimy shoulders. But the mood was ruined.

The girls were livid. Cordelia forbade either of them from arranging a date. She just demanded Xander's credit card for the next time and told them she'd have the AI's transport them when necessary.

* * *

On the heels of the date of doom, disaster struck.

Buffy and Oz had run into some sword wielding vampires. Clearly out of towners.

Faith and Church had also encountered the sword wielding vamps. But during the battle some civilian had approached Faith and touched her.

Faith's survival instinct kicked in.

He died with a look of shock on his face.

Faith was devastated. She ran off leaving Church with the body.

"Church what's up?" Jack asked as he beamed in from the SGC.

Church and Jack were soldiers. They knew that accidents happen on the battlefield, Church was pretty much a prime example thanks to Caboose, Sheila and poor understanding of the IFF Friend or Foe system.

He hadn't bothered calling Giles. He had gone straight for the military.

"Some dumbass civilian entered an active battle, actually touched Faith and wound up dead." Church bit out. He was majorly pissed. He was considering asking Xander to head over to the underworld and kick his ass.

"Damn." Jack exclaimed. "Where's Faith?"

"Ran off, dropped this." He said showing the wrist communicator she had ditched.

"Xander it's an emergency!" Jack called out into the air.

"Jeeze Jack, no need to shout." The Champion said as he appeared. "Whoa, dead guy."

"Idiot decided to try and talk to Faith in the middle of a fight. Faith reacted naturally." Church said.

"She's scared and upset and ran off?" Xander asked.

Church just held up the communicator.

"Right. I'll just go see if I can sort her out." Xander said as he disappeared.

"You're not going with him?" Jack asked.

"Me? The poster child for Friendly Fire incidents?" He asked incredulously.

"Point."

* * *

One moment Faith was running through the back streets of Sunnydale. The next she was confronted by four more sword wielding vamps. But Faith didn't have the will to fight. In her eyes she was a murderer. She slumped. Ready to accept her fate.

The vampires had seen her in action earlier. They knew she was a vampire slayer. She would be a good kill. This would bring them much honour from their master.

There was a sudden flash of steel and the Slayer was gone.

A second later the heads of the four vampires hit the floor in an explosion of dust.

Faith looked around in shock. Wherever she was it was daylight. Some sort of river by a forest, lots of mountains visible nearby.

"Hear you had some trouble."

Faith spun around to see Xander standing there.

"Where are we?"

"Tonane's world." He told her as he sat down on a nearby rock. "Figured a change of scenery might do you some good."

"I killed a man." She said in defeat.

"Yeah, but having heard the situation from Church, guy was an idiot who got what he deserved."

"I killed HIM!" She screamed.

"Yeah, he died at your hands." He said as he got up and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Faith broke at that. She burst into tears. Xander just held her, lowering her to floor to sit in his lap as she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

"Xe-ls said you were out here." Tonane said as he approached the pair some time later. Faith still sleeping.

"Yeah. Had a bit of an incident back home. There was a battle. A civilian… villager decided to try and talk to Faith whilst she was engaged in armed combat." Xander said.

Tonane had a look that could only be described as 'Are you serious!'

"Yeah, I mean, who does that? Not like they weren't being obvious about being in a fight… there were swords and everything." Xander griped.

"She is strong, she will come to terms with it." Tonane said firmly.

"I hope so."

Tonane left and reappeared in a flash sometime later with Xe-ls.

"I brought some supplies from the village." He said as he unrolled a sleeping mat.

Xander lay the sleeping Faith down.

"I'm going to go and get Church and Giles. Stay with her for me?" He asked.

"Of course." Xe-ls said. Tonane was already starting a fire.

* * *

Faith woke sometime later with sleep-encrusted eyes.

It was nighttime and a fire was burning.

"You're awake." Tonane noted.

"Hey hun." Church said as he knelt beside Faith.

Church led the sleepy and very depressed Faith over to the fire. Xander had moved logs to sit on, he and Giles were on one whilst Tonane was on another.

Faith sighed. She was a murderer. All those big stories she made up. Now she had true ones. And they weren't entertaining.

"What… what's going to happen to me now?" She asked, not looking up.

Giles and Xander looked at each other.

"We'll head back home in a bit. You'll take the week off from school. George has arranged a councilor for you to talk to. After a week we'll see how you're feeling and go from there." Xander said with a shrug.

"What about a trial? Won't there be prison time?" Faith asked in confusion.

"Hell no!" Church exclaimed.

"Faith, the fight you were engaged in would be under the jurisdiction of the Council. But, Slayers are now under the command of Xander, Oz and Gaia.

"Any investigation would be conducted by someone Xander chose. I have, however, spoken to her Majesty and she is in full agreement." Giles explained.

Xander took over. "As Church was your partner, I don't need to do much investigating into your actions. Church's body is equipped with sensors both audio and video. I already saw exactly what happened.

"As someone who has memories of a man who was shot in the back by his partner… I can say you are not guilty.

"The only investigation I need to do, is to find out why the jackass decided to endanger one of my slayers!" He said angrily. "He could have gotten you killed by distracting you. If he hadn't died, I might have killed him myself."

"But I still killed him." Faith said morosely.

The four men sighed.

Giles decided to respond.

"Yes, he died on the end of a weapon wielded by you. Yes, you will always hold the horror of that moment.

"But that is why George set up the councilor for you. To help you deal with what happens.

"You need to remember something very important. No one, not the Queen, the President, Gaia or even God, holds you responsible for that mans foolish actions."

"I'll say, I heard what happened. I may have got carried away and laid into him a bit when he reached my realm." Hades said as he appeared by the fire.

"Cool, I was gonna ask you to do that anyway." Church grinned.

"Oh, Tonane, this Hades, God of the Underworld, where the dead go. Hades, this is Tonane, a good friend of mine." Xander introduced.

"Always good to meet new people." Tonane said. He had been a little shocked at the titles. But he seemed to like Xander and Faith, so he didn't think it was a big deal.

"Always good to meet a friend of Xander's." Hades returned with a bright smile.

"Xander, you need to head off to the SGC. It's time for you to get me that justice I've been after. They have the details." Hades said. "I'll stay here with this bunch till you get back or someone relieves me."

Xander grinned a little maniacally. "Cool!" He said. He got up and walked around the fire to Faith.

"Come with me a moment." He said.

Xander led a curious Faith a few meters away from the camp.

"Your going to be fine. Buffy and the others are worried about you, so they are waiting eagerly for word. I figure you're not going to accept it wasn't your fault for a while, so I wanted to tell you the first thing that God ever told me personally. She said 'I'll still love you, even when you make mistakes. I'll be waiting for you.' She feels that way for all of us. So, if you feel you made a mistake, just remember we all still love you."

Xander kissed her forehead and vanished.

Faith stood there for a minute. Thinking about everything.

She suddenly felt a small pair of arms wrap around her. She looked up into sad smile of God.

She cried.


	26. Chapter 26

"Xander? What are you doing here?" Martouf asked as the young Champion appeared in the briefing room.

"Hades said you were about to take on Sokar. He really hates that guy. Wanted me to deal with him personally." Xander grinned.

"Won't that put you in violation of the treaty?" Daniel asked.

"Actually, Sokar is not part of the System Lords, also they would be invalidated as he made it clear that if his friends and allies were captured, he would come after them." Martouf said with a grin.

"What? Who got captured?" Xander asked with a frown.

"Dad." Sam said simply.

"Why didn't anyone call me?" Xander asked.

"We thought we should try on our own." Daniel said. "We can't call on you for everything, especially if you eventually won't be able to help as much."

"Guys, that's hopefully years away, as in centuries. I intend to do as much as I can in that time. I need you to prepare to manage things on a larger scale, building alliances, routing out evil dictatorships and providing stability so there isn't a power vacuum. That sort of thing."

"Ok, so how do you want to do this?" Jack asked.

"I'll need some type of backup, I intend to take Sokar's holdings. Contact Sayel, find out the nearest ship. Gate to it and then travel to… where is Jacob?"

"A moon called Netu, it is modeled after Hell." Martouf said.

"Wow, no wonder Hades hates this guy." Xander said. "Ok, You do that and wait for my signal. I'll nip over and bring Jacob and Selmak back here then go back and start wading through the crap."

"I'd much rather Oz or SG1 went with you." George sighed.

"SG1 isn't as indestructible as Oz and myself, and Oz can't hide like I can." Xander said. "Missions like this are what Spartans are built for."

"At least take Church?" George asked.

"Ok. Faith should be ok without him." Xander mused.

"How is she?" Jack asked.

"She'll be fine. Hades is there, Giles, Tonane and Church too." Xander said.

"Very well people. Mission approved. Carry on." George declared.

* * *

Xander popped in and out with Jacob. Taking just a few moments to familiarize himself with the place so he could pop back.

First things first. He was stuck in a cell.

He supposed he could bust out. But figured it would be best not to attract attention yet. So he wriggled out as a rat.

Deciding the place _really_ stank he decided to make the trip in armour. Lots of cells with prisoners. Tortured prisoners at that. He definitely had to have the place remodeled.

Xander eventually came to a door. Most of the entrances and exits were metal gates and cage doors.

This was a wooden door.

So it was probably a good place to start.

One swift kick and the door went flying.

As the dust settled a large ugly guy with one eye was dangling in mid air.

"What is your name demon?" Xander asked.

"Bynarr!" The man cried in fear.

"Where is Sokar?"

"On his ship." The man croaked.

"You will take me to him." Xander ordered as he dropped the man.

Bynarr crawled over to a hidden button and indicated the inset rings. He pushed the button and Xander and Bynarr were transported away.

When they arrived, Xander was still invisible. Bynarr was still following orders so he headed for Sokar's throne room.

"Why are you here?" Sokar demanded.

Sokar was deathly white. His human host appeared to be beyond saving physically. He had doubts about the innocence of Bynarr's host.

"I was ordered to come here." Bynarr answered.

This was a problem. There was no communication device in this room. He couldn't take out Sokar here, if he did he wouldn't be able to convince the Jaffa he had done so.

"By whom? I gave no such order?" Sokar was getting angry.

Xander crept up behind the throne. There was a human standing right there. He'd have to chance it.

"Order the human to stay here. Order Bynarr and the guards to accompany you and head to the control room of your ship." Xander ordered as quietly as he could.

The human twitched, he had heard something. But Sokar gave the orders and he followed them like a good little minion.

Fortunately they weren't far from the ships bridge. Once there Xander whispered that Sokar should broadcast audio and video to all his Jaffa.

Seconds later Xander was standing there on the bridge of the ship being pelted by staff and zat blasts.

Xander moved quickly breaking the weapons. He didn't know just how loyal these Jaffa were. Hopefully they were just slaves, too afraid to disobey their 'god'.

If they were fanatical minions who enjoyed their work… there was going to be a lot of dead Jaffa.

Two minutes later and the Jaffa were staring at the armoured being in horror. Bynarr and Sokar where mute as Xander had left them. But the fear was clear in their eyes.

"Hear me Jaffa of Sokar. I am Lord Xander. Champion of the Universe and killer of the Goa'uld." Xander said as he walked slowly around the room addressing the disarmed Jaffa and cameras.

"I have killed Heru'ur, Ammonet, Hathor and a host of minor Goa'ulds. I have freed their Jaffa and exposed them as the false gods that they are.

"Now, I have come to deliver justice upon Sokar."

Xander figured that as Hades was so invested in dealing with this demon he better offer him the opportunity.

"Hades? Want to make an entrance?" Xander muttered quietly, hoping the god would hear him.

Fortunately Hades was eagerly watching this and dying for a chance to attend… figuratively speaking.

Hades appeared next to Xander. As usual he appeared with none of the fanfare or special affects that demons or technology used.

He just appeared.

"This is Lord Hades. The true God of the Underworld." Xander said with a deep bow to the newly arrived god.

"Lord Xander speaks the truth. Sokar was a name I went by. This pitiful demon stole my name and corrupted it, associating it with pure evil. This is not something I can abide.

"Lord Xander will lead you into a new time. You will no longer suffer under the oppressive rule of the Goa'uld. Instead he will teach you to govern yourselves. To help maintain stability in this universe.

"But remember. As good as his rewards can be. He will be just as vicious in dealing out punishment. Any who betray Lord Xander will know his wrath. And the true gods will stand at his side. The Creator will be there to give approval."

Hades turned to Xander.

"Show the Jaffa just why the Goa'uld are not to be feared." He instructed.

Xander gave a small bow. He banished his armour. He needed people to realize the power was his own. Not something they could try and steal.

"Demons. Leave the hosts."

To the horror of the Jaffa, the two snakes burst from the mouths of the hosts. Only whereas usually the host survived, this time they died on the spot.

Hades ignored this and lifted the squirming worms.

"This is the true face of the Goa'uld. Lord Xander holds more power over them then they could ever hope to achieve."

Hades crushed the two snakes, dropping the slimy carcasses to the floor.

He stepped up to Xander and whispered in his ear.

"I'll explain about the hosts later." And then he vanished out.

"Who is the First Prime?" Xander asked.

"I am." A Jaffa stepped forward.

"The Tok'ra and Taur'i will arrive soon. You will prepare to welcome them. They are allies and friends. Also prepare a report on the status of Sokar's holdings. They are now mine." Xander ordered as he sat on the throne.

"So what, that's it? I don't get to do anything?" Church said as he appeared next to a seated Xander.

"Well, does scaring the Jaffa count?" Xander asked as he indicated the shocked looks on the First Prime's face.

"Oops."

"Delta, can you take a look at the systems, see what info you can get?" Xander asked his companion AI.

"Complying." The AI said as it began infiltrating the systems.

"So what do we do now?" Church asked.

"Wait for SG1 and co." Xander shrugged. "Wanna play twenty questions?"

The answer was a resounding no. Years spent in Blood Gultch had caused Church to have a healthy hate for games to wile away the time. A thousand years with Gary had caused him to develop a tick on hearing the words 'Knock, Knock'.

Fortunately, SG1 and the Tok'ra, which consisted of Martouf and… well, Lantesh, were only an hour away.

Delta finished his report and Xander killed the First Prime when Delta reported he was preparing to fire on the Taur'i. Needless to say this put the fear in the rest of the Jaffa.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the Jaffa of Sokar where worse than demons. They were about as corrupt as they came. Fortunately most of the Jaffa were exiles or conquered Jaffa. Sokar didn't seem to want to hold planets. But he had a em_lot/em_ of ships and Jaffa.

According to Martouf, Jacob was sent to investigate because of this build up. Sokar had been planning to try and over throw the System Lords. Xander did not want to leave these Jaffa unattended. He just didn't trust them.

"The best you can do is have them patrol the borders of your space." Martouf said. "Monitor their behaviour and those that prove themselves can be reassigned."

Sayel and Teal'c were in agreement. But Xander refused to place any of his Horus guard on their ships for a while. He considered them to be in danger if that happened.

Sayel revealed that he had been building several teams to takeover the management of newly conquered realms. Both the Tok'ra and Taur'i offered to supply their own people to assist the teams.

Xander was very impressed. He considered this to be a perfect move that would help prepare things for when he reached his godhood. It also worried him a little as he couldn't help but wonder if it would come sooner if the universe was ready sooner.

Xander left the preparations and handling of the new Jaffa in Sayel's capable hands. Sayel had successfully delegated roles to trustworthy Jaffa amongst the Horus guard.

* * *

Xander appeared in the holy place. He had an important question for Hades.

"Why did the hosts die?"

"You already guessed why." Hades smiled. "They were evil before they were taken as hosts. They were taken as hosts em_because/em_ they were evil."

"Was it something I did that caused them to die?" Xander asked.

"No, your commands are holy commands. They are a method of delivering justice. The previous hosts you have freed were generally innocent to some degree. Some were even born and bred to be hosts. They were pure, or as pure as your average human can be.

"Sokar chose his host because he had already attained a reputation as a truly evil being. Sokar chose Bynarr's host from amongst the denizens of Netu, most of them are true criminals."

"So I don't have to worry about releasing an evil host on the population?" Xander asked. It had been a worry of his.

"No, your commands are an extension of the will of the Almighty. She is the final judge."

Xander nodded. He basically understood. The fate of the host was decided by God. He was merely an instrument. Just like he was for Gaia.

"What do you think I should do with the prisoners on Netu?" Xander asked. He was worried there would be more innocents like Jacob.

"That moon is an abomination. You should abandon it. Create a secure facility elsewhere until you can determine the guilt or innocence of the patrons." Hades advised.

"Hmm, sounds like a job for the Asgard. I'll ask them about their holding facilities. See if they can help me build something." Xander mused.

Sayel had his teams begin scouting abandoned moons and planets. Thor was a bit busy to help so they worked with the Tok'ra using tunneling crystals.

Using a Stargate without a dialing device on both ends they slowly transferred the prisoners. Any Goa'uld found where rounded up for Xander to deal with. The whole process took about a week.

* * *

The Queen had apparently decided that one watcher for a Slayer was not enough. And one watcher for two slayers was abominable.

She sent a team of watchers to assist Giles. She also appointed Giles as the Chief Watcher in the Field. And severely reminded the outgoing watchers that they were there to assist the Slayers and Mr. Giles and that the Slayers where under the command of Lord Osbourne.

Buffy however, seemed to grow sick over the course of the week. She was not pleased as her birthday was coming up and she was really looking forward to it. She had arranged a private venue with just the Scoobies and SG1 with George and the Frasiers. She said she wanted God to be able to turn up and enjoy herself. She really knew how to party.

On the day of Buffy's birthday everything went to pot.

Buffy was missing, but no one thought it was something wrong until Xander had a screaming call from said Slayer on what he referred to as his 'God Phone'.

"Jeeze Buff! Do you have to scream?" He said wringing his ears.

"Behind you!" She shouted as she pointed over his shoulder.

Xander didn't get a chance to turn as he was hit on the head by a very powerful blow.

The huge vampire named Kralik slowly stalked her.

Buffy had been abducted as she arrived for school. Knocked unconscious she awoke to find herself in an abandoned house. With a demented vampire stalking her.

Xander was out. Her watch was gone. The vampire was about to kill her.

"Been a long while since I had a Slayer." Kralik leered.

"Gonna be a lot longer too." A voice said behind him.

This time Kralik didn't get a chance to turn as a sword swiped his head off.

The dust settled to reveal a very angry Oz standing there.

Buffy broke down and grabbed Oz tightly.

"How did you find me?"

"Delta transported me in when Xander went down." Oz explained. "We need to have him teach the other AI's to do the same."

"Ow. My aching head!" Xander moaned.

"Xander!" Buffy said as she and Oz rushed to help him. "You shouldn't move, he hit you really hard." She warned.

"Huh? Oh that, nah that was nothing. You on the other hand, please don't scream!" He cried.

Buffy just huffed.

"Any idea who kidnapped me?" She asked.

"Oh yes. I know exactly who did it. Their scents are all over this place." Oz growled.

"Who?" Xander asked not recognizing anyone.

"The new watchers."

"Really? That explains why I can't recognize them." He mused. "Delta, you got a location on the new Watchers?"

"They seem to be holding Giles and Willow hostage in the library." He informed them.

"Right, I'll go in straight away and disarm. Oz, you approach from the outside. Delta, transport Buffy to her home."

Buffy let out an indignant huff as she vanished.

"She's really gonna lay into you later." Oz noted.

Xander just grinned.

"I thought you were immune to bullets and stuff now?"

"I am, but he caught me by surprise, really it just stunned me, I didn't pass out. Delta alert Church and Faith and have them go babysit Buffy whilst she's out of action."

Xander donned his armour and initiated his cloak.

"Give me ten seconds then follow."

* * *

These men were fools.

Giles was looking forward to seeing what Xander or Oz would do to them. They had apparently managed to trick the Queen in to believing they were loyal to her and the Slayer. They were actually more interested in controlling the Slayer. They were planning on killing the current slayers and Giles and having then having themselves assigned as primary Watchers to the new Slayer.

Fortunately Faith was not very cooperative and they had been unable to drug her. So they couldn't kill Giles till they did.

Unfortunately Willow had discovered the deception and was now likely to be killed with him.

Giles was just about to call for Xander and make a move when the two Watchers were struck by blue bolts.

Xander had arrived it seemed.

Ten seconds later as Xander was disarming them Oz arrived and began untying them.

"You don't call I can't help you!" Xander admonished.

"I was waiting for them to be distracted so they wouldn't notice." Giles retorted.

"Probably a good thing. Buffy called him and he got knocked out." Oz grinned.

"I did not!"

"Is Buffy alright?" Willows asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I sent her, Church and Faith to Colorado. They can stay there for now." Xander assured her.

"So Oz, what do you want to do with them?" Xander asked the Wolf.

"Isn't this your job Xander?" Willow asked.

"Not really. The Slayer's are Oz's charges. Whatever he decides I'll back. I'll also make it clear with the President as the crimes were against US citizens on US soil, and the Queen as they are technically under her command and they are British citizens."

"They are guilty of attempted murder. At least three counts. Four if we count Willow." Oz said.

"You're not sure what to do?" Willow asked.

Oz sighed. "No. They are the worst kind of criminals. But I'm still not sure they are in the same league as the Goa'uld or Vampires."

"Actually their worse." Giles said angrily. He very much wanted to beat the little sods to death. But Xander was right. It was Oz's decision.

"Why worse?" Willow asked.

"It is the nature of vampires and the Goa'uld to do evil. They were created to do it. These… _men_, chose to do evil." Giles said.

"But did they think they were doing evil?" Willow asked. "Or did they think they were working for the greater good?"

"She makes a good point." Oz agreed.

"Yeah, but they were still going to kill innocent people so they could do things their way. They didn't take legal routes. They didn't argue and debate like civilized people, they drew guns and sacrificed a young girl to a demon. So not even a humane killing." Xander argued.

"Damn." Xander said. "I gotta go, Sam's calling. I'll back your play." Xander told Oz as he vanished out.

* * *

It was a big risk. A wide open space in public. Of course she had chosen that place for safety.

Then the idiot, Maybourne had decided to ignore protocol and call in the very people she was accusing of being compromised.

So here she was sitting at a table on a sunny day with Maybourne and two people she _knew_ were posing as Jack and Daniel.

So she called out for Xander.

What Sam didn't know was that Xander was now a little gun shy about answering these calls without his armour on. Thank you very much Kralik!

So he appeared in public in full armour.

Thank the Almighty for that cloak.

Xander banished the armour, suddenly appearing at the table.

"Sam, you called?" He asked as he sat down.

"Yeah, we have a foothold situation and Colonel Maybourne decided to ignore protocol and actually called in people from the base." Sam said angrily.

"Watch your tone Major. I am your superior officer." Maybourne warned.

Sam muttered something about a superior ass. Xander didn't think that she thought he had a cute butt.

"Right, ok. So what's your plan Colonel? As one of the two ranking officers?" Xander asked.

Maybourne had been briefed on the young boy posing as the Champion of the Universe. He didn't really believe it. But the boy had the Presidents ear and some power. This was a chance to maybe convince the boy that the NID was the way forward, not General Hammond and the SGC. Kinsey was still trying, cocking things up though.

"I say we go back to the SGC and talk this out. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation." He said smugly.

Xander shrugged. "Ok, let's go find a nice quiet place and make our way."

Sam looked at him like he was nuts. She seriously thought Xander was smarter than this.

"Come on Sam, I don't know my way around this place." Xander said seriously.

'Jack' and 'Daniel' were looking quite pleased. If they could get control of this Xander, they would be able to get closer to the government. He was listed as quite high up in the SGC files. At first they thought he was a Goa'uld, so they wouldn't be able to duplicate him, the same issues they had with the Jaffa and Tok'ra would apply. But the medical files showed he was pure human.

Five minutes later and they were standing in a deserted alleyway with the two imposters on the ground.

Xander looked over at Sam and grinned. "Did you really think I would believe him over you? Besides, I'm technically former military, I know when to follow protocol. Besides, they are demons."

Sam sighed in relief.

Maybourne was livid. "What the devil do you think you're doing? That is a United States Air Force Officer you have assaulted. When the President finds out-"

"He'll probably offer me another medal." Xander yawned. "You on the other hand can expect to undergo disciplinary hearings for failure to follow protocol."

He then put on his armour and grabbed the two imposters.

"Both of you grab on." Xander said.

Sam responded immediately, when Maybourne hesitated Sam grabbed his arm and Xander teleported to the library.

* * *

Giles, Oz and Willow were discussing the impending sentencing of the two watchers. Oz assured Willow that the one thing not up for discussion was their guilt. Especially when they were caught holding weapons on Giles and Willow.

Xander suddenly walked out of the office in full armour holding Jack and Daniel over each shoulder with Sam and some Air Force officer trailing behind.

"Who's the imposter?" Oz asked having caught the unfamiliar sents.

"No idea. But we have an invasion at the SGC." Xander said as he threw the two aliens into the book cage with the watchers. "Jeeze, a full house." Xander moaned.

"Need help?" Oz offered?

"I'd love help, but I need to go super covert and you to stay here and watch these two. We don't know what they are like strength wise compared to humans."

"Makes sense." Oz shrugged.

"And the other gentleman?" Giles asked indicating Maybourne.

"'Gentleman' is way to kind Giles." Xander growled. "This idiot nearly caused a complete invasion."

"I don't care who you are but you will not talk to me that way and you will not divulge classified information to civilians." Maybourne raged.

Xander looked at him steadily for five whole seconds. Oddly creepy considering his face was obscured by his visor.

Xander then calmly drew his Zat and shot him. Oz just dragged him over to the book cage and tossed him in with the rest.

Sam was instantly hugging him.

"You have no idea how much we have wanted to do that!" She gushed as she backed away slightly embarrassed. "That idiot tried to take Teal'c for experimentation when he got stung by the bug."

Xander just growled.

Surprisingly so did Willow. She had a soft spot for the large Jaffa. She thought he was a big ol' teddy bear. Giles looked at her in amusement and she flushed with embarrassment.

"Ok, I am off to the SGC to squash the invasion. Major Carter, you have my permission to zat the Colonel and any of those in the book cage should you feel the need arise." Xander said formally.

Sam just grinned.

"Xander, make sure you take Church." Oz advised.

"Good idea."

* * *

Xander had two problems. He needed to find out how far the aliens had gotten with infiltrating the SGC and Earth, and he needed to stop them from escaping. That meant stopping them from going into the public or through the Stargate. Unfortunately he could not do this on his own.

Having entered the SGC through the Mountain's main entrance he could see that the infiltration was nearly complete. Everywhere he looked he saw more demons. Only one in five was human, and they were only the lower ranks and non-military and scientific personnel.

Having completed his check of the mountain and deposited Delta in the SGC systems, Xander headed up to the Gate Ship. Still in cloaked mode, Xander found that the infiltration was one hundred percent on the ship.

What was disturbing him, was that he had yet to see a single Jaffa. Until he came to a cargo bay. Piled on top of each other were his Jaffa. All dead. Discarded like trash. Xander vanished.

* * *

"My Lord, it is good to… Xander what is wrong?" Sayel said dropping the formalities as he saw the pale look on Xander's face.

"An incursion, at the SGC, our brothers are all dead." Xander said still somewhat shocked as he dropped into the throne on the bridge.

Sayel was horrified. There were over fifty Jaffa stationed on the SGC Gate Ship. All were men with families. As Lord Xander requested, those stationed on the Gate Ship were those coming in from long tours or recovering from injury and needing light duty.

They still tended to be the cream of the crop. For them all to be wiped out was unthinkable.

Sayel straightened up, realizing his Jaffa would look to them for strength.

"What are your orders My Lord." He asked firmly.

Xander raised his head. "We make them pay." He growled. "Find our best men. We must do this right. As soon as the men are in position you must dial the gate and prevent their escape.

"They have not yet breached beyond the SGC, save for two I dealt with myself. Once our men on the ground are in place start sending men through the gate, I will be on the other side ensuring their safety."

"It shall be done immediately My Lord." He said and began snapping out orders.

"You ok Xan?" Church asked as he appeared next to the throne. Delta had been left behind in the base computers to alert Xander should any more aliens try to leave.

"I'll be fine. Just as soon as we kill these bastards." He said.

Twenty minutes later and there were four hundred Jaffa aboard the mother ship waiting to avenge their brethren. Two hundred would be travelling to Earth with Xander, the other two hundred would enter through the gate.

"How are you going to get two hundred Jaffa on the ground?" Church asked.

"I'm going to teleport this ship into orbit and then teleport it back to Abydos." Xander said quietly.

"You can do that?" Church asked. "Teleport a whole ship?"

"Don't know, I can teleport anything I touch." He shrugged.

"Fine time to start experimenting." Church huffed. "You know Martouf is gonna moan about not being here to see it."

"I'll make it up to him." Xander chuckled humourlessly.

Xander didn't wait, he grabbed the throne of the ship, closed his eyes and focused on the ship being moved to earth.

The only sign Xander had of any thing happening was Sayel's mutterings of amazement.

"Begin the transportation." Xander ordered.

Five minutes later the Jaffa had been teleported into the woods on the mountain. They took up positions at the various exits a large portion prepared to storm the gates in order to seal them and prevent escape. Xander teleported the ship back to Abydos.

"Wait for my signal before dialing, I want them heading for the gate ship instead of into the cities." Xander ordered.

"Yes My Lord." Sayel said.

On arriving at the SGC in fully cloaked armour, Delta informed him that he had a lock on _all_ the aliens and had found the captured humans.

Xander headed up to the Gate Ship and ordered the ground based Jaffa to begin their assault.

He then ordered Delta to begin transporting the aliens to the Gate Ship.

As suspected they headed for the Stargate. Xander ordered Sayel to dial in and began hacking away at any alien that decided to approach the gate controls.

Once the wormhole was established Xander sheathed his sword, teleported in front of the gate, drew his battle rifle and began firing into the swarming aliens. Mowing them down as fast as they appeared.

The Jaffa were pouring in behind him. It was beginning to get crowded.

But the aliens were being cut down. The Jaffa had little to do. Xander switched back to his sword and the Jaffa began sweeping the hallways until Delta reported that there were no aliens left.

Xander contacted his ground troops and ordered them to find and release the humans. Church went down to help out. He then ordered half of the Jaffa back through the gate.

A surprising victory. The pure element of surprise had meant Xander killed most of the aliens before the first Jaffa stepped through the gate. There was only one casualty and no fatalities.

Xander ordered his men to split into two teams half to hold the Gate Ship and the rest to secure the SGC itself. He also ordered the recall of all offworld teams. They would need to be placed in holding to ensure no aliens had gone out with teams.

* * *

Xander teleported down to George.

"Xander, thank you for getting us out of this mess." George said sincerely. "I don't know how you did it but thank you."

"Sam raised the alarm. I'm unsure of the exact circumstances, she put a call into my God Phone and I found her with some guy named Maybourne and two imposters pretending to be Jack and Danny." Xander said. "That idiot Maybourne didn't follow protocol when Sam called it in. I definitely want him brought up on charges. He nearly compromised the safety of the world." Xander was pissed.

"Where is Carter?" Jack asked.

"With Giles and Oz. We had some troubles of our own. I dropped them all at the library and zatted Maybourne, guy started mouthing off at me and refusing to believe that they weren't imposters."

Xander suddenly found himself being hugged by Jack whilst George smothered a smirk.

"What is it with you and Sam? This guy really that bad?" Xander asked as he pried off Jack.

"May you never have to deal with him again." Jack said sagely.

"Well, Sam should have the Sunnydale Jaffa team supporting her. Plus Oz." Xander said. "Oh, and I ordered her to shoot Maybourne if she felt the need. With the zat of course."

"Damn." Jack moaned.

"I will need to leave Earth for a few days to a few weeks." Xander said. "All of the Jaffa stationed here were slaughtered. I want to pay my respects to the families." Xander said. "Can you arrange for the teams to cover for me in Sunnydale?"

"Of course. They were good men. The President will want to hear of this. Would you be willing to come and make a report?" George asked.

"Yeah, no problem." Xander agreed tiredly.

"Sir, whilst you arrange that why don't Xander and I go grab those imposters and Maybourne? Not to mention Carter?"

"Of course. I'll try and arrange for the meeting to take place in an hour." He said.


	27. Chapter 27

Sam was discussing the fate of the two rogue Watchers with Willow and Oz whilst Giles explained the situation to the Queen.

The Jaffa were stationed in front of the book cage.

Maybourne had been shot a further two times.

Sam didn't bother giving him time to complain.

Xander and Jack managed to startle Giles and severely worry the Queen as they teleported in.

With a quick round of apologies and 'say hi to the Queen for me' they went out to see Sam and the others.

"Sir! Good to see you in person." Sam said as she stood practically to attention.

"At ease Major." Jack admonished. "I'll be putting in a recommendation for a commendation for your handling of this incident." Jack said proudly.

"Ditto." Xander agreed. "Of course I'll be kicking up a storm of complaints about Maybourne."

"Sam has been diligently zapping Mr Maybourne here." Giles said grinning as he exited the office. "On the grounds that only Oz could say he didn't smell like the others."

Jack looked between Sam and Oz with an amused look.

"Never smelt him before, no telling what he is." Oz defended.

"Well, maybe we ought to keep him sedated until Ol' Doc Frasier can assure us he's human." Jack smirked.

"I think he's waking up again." Willow noted.

"Sir?" Sam offered Jack the zat gun.

"Thank you Major." And the Colonel zapped the Colonel. "for the good of the Earth of course."

"Of course sir." Sam grinned.

Jack moved to look at the other two bodies. "Do I really look like that?" He asked childishly.

Xander motioned for Oz to join him and they dragged the O'Neill imposter out and laid him on the table.

"Definitely not human." Xander noted as he rubbed his nose.

He started to frisk the imposter and noticed something stuck to his chest.

"Sam, Wills, any idea on this?" Xander asks.

"Looks like technology." Willow notes.

"Definitely alien tech." Sam agrees.

"Is Delta here?" Willow asks.

"Ah, no, I left him at the SGC to monitor things." Xander says with a wince.

"O'Mally, take a look. Try not to blow us up." Oz orders his companion AI.

"Takes away half the fun!" The AI declared as he dived into the tech.

"What's the other half?" Jack wondered.

O'Mally returned a few seconds later. "Just a simple imaging device. No booby traps." He moaned.

Sam and Willow looked at each other and shrugged.

"Want to do the honours?" Sam offered the young hacker.

"Touch the alien device which is stuck to an imposter of Jack? Pass." She said.

Sam just rolled her eyes and pulled the device off. She couldn't help but brace herself.

"EW EW EW EWWWW" Willow cried as she backed away from the alien that was visibly morphing into its natural form.

"Willow, you have come face to face with the hell beast, and this makes you queasy?" Giles asked, earning him a red headed glare.

"So, which one is the real Jack?" Xander mused.

This earned him a smack on the back of the head from Jack.

"Ow! Just for that you can go and grab the thingy off the other one!" Xander said rubbing his head.

"Do you have to call it a thingy?" Jack said disgustedly.

Soon both aliens were locked up in their natural form.

"Ok, we have to get back to the SGC. George wants me to help him brief the President." He told Willow and Giles. He turned to the Jaffa. "Keep a guard on all of these for me. I will ask General Hammond to send some Jaffa to pick them up. It would be best if we only used Jaffa for now as they weren't able to control Teal'c.

"Also, our brothers stationed at the SGC were all slaughtered by these aliens." Xander informed the present Jaffa sadly.

The Jaffa were shocked. Over fifty of their fellows gone.

"See to it that these aliens are treated properly. No mistreating them. I need to interrogate them to find their home world. I intend to seek justice for what they did." Xander said angrily.

"We will see to it with our lives and ensure the Jaffa you send are also made aware, Lord Xander." The lead Jaffa assured him.

* * *

The meeting with the President was a serious matter.

"All the Jaffa were killed?" Jack asked in shock.

"Yes sir, it seems they were unable to apply the memory device to the Jaffa, so they killed them instead." General Hammond confirmed.

"But why not kill Teal'c?"

"Probably because he was off world at the time. By the time he came back they had enough memories and info to realise that they couldn't just kill him as he was too integral to the SGC to just disappear." Xander suggested.

"Damn." He muttered.

"Sir, Lord Xander has requested some teams to be sent into Sunnydale whilst he is visiting the families of the Jaffa that died." George said.

"Of course. It would probably be best if you limited the gate usage to necessary travel only for a while till security measures can be investigated. Don't want this happening again."

"It won't." Xander said firmly. "I intend to find them and destroy them. This will be the last time they try it with anyone."

"Is it wise to declare war on them?" Jack asked.

"It's my job." Xander shrugged. "Champion of the Universe. How many other planets do you they think they will try and conqueror… how many do you think they already have?"

George and the President were silent at this as they digested this realisation.

"Do we know what they wanted?" He asked.

"No, they didn't reveal their intentions by their actions other than the infiltration of our society." George sighed. "We have two in custody that were imitating Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson. Hopefully we can get info from them."

"Speaking of, I'd like to recommend Major Carter for a commendation. Without her actions, Earth would be overrun." Xander said.

"I agree sir. She acted perfectly." George agreed heartedly.

"I'll have it investigated immediately. Hopefully we can rush something through. In the meantime we can all add a comment to her file."

"I'd also like Colonel Maybourne to undergo disciplinary charges. His actions nearly destroyed Major Carter's efforts and doomed us all." Xander said with disgust.

"WHAT!" He shouted.

"After Major Carter called in the Foothold situation to Maybourne, that idiot actually contacted the SGC and met up with 'O'Neill' and 'Jackson'." Xander said with air quotes. "He didn't follow protocol and introduced the invaders to the public."

"Why the hell would he do something so stupid?" Jack asked in shock.

"He has never trusted the SGC. He has constantly tried to gain access to everything from the Stargate to Teal'c and his symbiote. He allowed his beliefs to cloud his actions." George said.

"All of which are unacceptable." He sighed. "I will see to it that this is also investigated immediately and have the Colonel placed under guard for now."

"Actually he is in a cell at the SGC awaiting a full physical so we can be sure he's not an alien." Xander smirked.

Jack chuckled. "I'll be sure to have the paperwork waiting."

"Lord Xander, I've been in communication with the Queen. She is adamant, and I agree, that we need to bring in the other countries, at least the major powers. They have the right to know and supply support if necessary."

"Makes sense, might help to bring some unity to the planet too." Xander mused.

"The problem is, there _will_ be some anger and lots of demands for access and changing of how things are done so that America isn't in charge so much." Jack warned

"Right, cause changing how things work because it doesn't suit your ego is smart. Especially when we are under threat." Xander said rolling his eyes.

"Agreed, which is why the Queen and I are asking you to attend and help lead the meeting, hopefully Commander Thor and Per'sus can also attend. Sayel and Dr Jackson's father-in-law would also be good, or at least meeting with them.

"We want to show the leaders of Earth that we don't consider this an American project to save America, but a human project to save all humans and their allies."

"I can probably swing a few more allies like Tonane and Xe-ls. Not to mention Lya." Xander mused.

"There is another aspect the Queen suggested. That we cede ownership of the Earth Stargate to you. That way they can't try and demand it from us."

"In order for this to be effective, we need to be open about the supernatural side of things too." Xander said. "Especially as it's not located solely in Sunnydale. Liam, the Vampire with a soul and Champion for the Fallen, is currently in LA. Apparently the supernatural is pretty big there."

"Ok, Sunnydale is your territory, so that shouldn't be a problem." Jack considered.

"There are some peaceful types, so we need to find those." Xander pointed out. "The agent the Fallen are sending to help Liam is a half Bracken demon. They are supposed to be very peaceful… barring bar fights."

"Ok, I hate to say it, but we might need a census or something. Otherwise a lot of innocents are going to get killed." Jack sighed.

"We'll have the Queen get the Watcher's Council to help. They have centuries of knowledge." Xander suggested.

"Ok, I think that covers it. The Queen and I will begin contacting the heads of state to arrange a meeting." The President said as he stood.

"Sir, I'd like to request permission to accompany Lord Xander as he visits the families. They were his men, but they were technically under my command." George requested.

* * *

Xander and George made it that night to Buffy's party. They were a subdued pair but God turned up and had them dancing soon enough.

Hades tagged along and assured them both that the fallen Jaffa were settled in well in the Underworld. It would be a small comfort, but it was an assurance they could give the families.

George and Xander spent the better part of two weeks visiting families. Xander was anxious to ensure that they would be well taken care of and that their communities would keep an eye out for them.

George was impressed with the lengths Xander would go to. Not to mention the level of respect and awe his people showed him.

Whenever the people showed fear of him, he was quick to dispel it.

Sayel was their constant companion through this. Guiding Xander and George through each meeting and helping them to respect traditions and customs.

Eventually they finished their visits. It had been a sad time, but they were welcomed by the families of the lost, despite the news they brought. The news that their loved ones awaited them in the realm of Hades seemed to give them much comfort.

* * *

George and Xander appeared in the SGC teleportation room. They were immediately informed that a Tollan named Narim had arrived.

The two just looked at each other sighed.

"Very soon, you and I are going on vacation." Xander told George firmly.

"We might get the chance if the international community steps up." George pointed out.

"General, good to have you back sir. You remember Narim?" Jack said as the two entered the briefing room.

"Of course. Did you make it to your people?" He asked.

"We did, thanks to your help and the Nox." Narim said with a small bow.

"Narim was saying that they have Skaara and that he has requested us for some sort of Tribunal." Daniel explained.

"Us being SG1." Sam added.

"I assume you leave now?" George asked. He knew that Skaara was important to both Jack and Daniel. Sha're would be thrilled.

"It would be helpful." Narim agreed.

"I'd like Sha're and Lord Xander to come. Skaara might like to know his sister is fine." Daniel said. "I believe the Tollan should also meet Lord Xander."

George looked to Xander.

"Fine by me, we only just got up and came home." Xander explained.

"Very well. I assume Mrs. Jackson is prepared?" George asked.

"She's actually in our quarters on base with Nicholas." Daniel said sheepishly. "She wants her brother to meet his nephew."

"What just happened?" Daniel asked.

They had travelled to the new Tollan home world. Xander was impressed. It was a pretty idealistic place. He had invited Gaia to come too as it sounded like a peaceful trip and they hadn't had much time together since the Foothold.

Of course they sounded like firm friends of the Nox when it came to sharing technology.

As they entered the building to meet Skaara there was a flash of light. This prompted Daniel's question.

"Your weapons have been disabled, you may still carry them if you wish." Narim said calmly.

Jack was not pleased.

"Xander please tell me that didn't affect you?" Jack pleaded.

"Please, as if Xander would even need his armour." Gaia scoffed. "The Tollan are smart but they have nothing on Xander's tech. Delta, report."

"All systems are fully functional. I cannot speak for the armour however in it's current state." The green AI materialised to report.

"Impressive." Narim said with no small awe. "Perhaps you would be willing to teach us your technology?"

Xander smirked and willed his armour on.

Narim stumbled back in shock.

"I do not believe you are advanced enough to responsibly handle my level of tech. You are far too primitive." Xander said, his voice slightly distorted through his helmet speakers.

He ignited his sword and examined it checking it for flaws. Then banished the armour and sword.

"My armour is fine." He assured Jack. "Shall we continue?" He asked Narim.

The man composed himself and continued leading the group along. Nicky had gotten quite excited at seeing his godfather in his armour. He began spouting off his favourite word.

"Kitty!"

Xander just smiled and took the young child playing with him.

"Was it really necessary to scare Narim like that?" Daniel whispered.

"Yes." Gaia answered firmly. "They are just as arrogant as the Nox can be. But the Nox have earned that right, the Tollan have not."

Xander let them talk whilst he entertained Nicky.

They eventually arrived in a meeting room where they were greeted by an older lady. She was introduced as High Chancellor Travell.

"I can understand Skaara's sister being here for him, but what is the purpose of your presence." She asked Xander and Gaia.

Daniel decided to speak up. "I asked for them to come, they are powerful allies who I believe it would be beneficial for you to meet."

"Beneficial for you, or for us?" She asked suspiciously.

Xander just looked at Gaia with a raised eyebrow. She and Jack just sighed tiredly.

"Most likely for you. Lord Xander ensures that the people of Earth are well protected. The meeting was primarily to allow you and Lord Xander to meet. He is the Champion of the Universe after all." Daniel defended.

"An impressive title I am sure. But as the Goa'uld have discovered, we do not submit to dictators and false gods." The Chancellor said calmly.

"And the fact that he hasn't asked or demanded anything of you means nothing?" Gaia asked.

"Many have come under the guise of peace, we do not give our trust lightly." The Chancellor said.

"Yet you asked the Taur'i to come here then disable their weaponry and expect their trust?" She asked.

Travell decided to avoid getting into a debate. "I have not heard why you are here?"

"I am Gaia. Goddess of the Universe. Xander is my Champion." She said with no small amount of annoyance.

"I assume you are here to try and claim our people?" Travell said tiredly. Obviously another Goa'uld ploy.

"Why would I need to do that?" Gaia asked. "I already own the universe, I like it the way it is… not including the Goa'uld and other annoyances." She clarified.

Xander at this point had handed Nicky over to Sha're and backed her between Teal'c and Sam.

"Enough. We are not here to argue with you. Clearly the Tollan are far too primitive to converse and understand. We wish to see Skaara and leave. That is why we are here. We will leave once that is accomplished." Xander said. He was not pleased at the way they were treating Gaia.

"Very well, bring in Skaara." She ordered the guards.

Narim meanwhile had rounded the table and was having a hushed conversation with the Chancellor.

"Jack, I totally agree, these guys are jerks." Xander agreed.

"Skaara!" Sha're cried as her brother was escorted in.

Skaara had a delighted look on his face at seeing his sister especially with a child. But was devastated when she pulled up short in fear.

"Xander, he has the demon still!" She said as she backed behind Daniel, Sam instinctively covering her back.

Xander quickly confirmed this. "You would dare to allow the demon to enslave this innocent man?" He raged at Travell.

"That is the purpose of Triad. To determine who has the rights to the host." Travell said as if explaining to a child.

Xander and Jack pretty much blew a gasket. Gaia and Sha're were not far behind.

"DEMON! REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THE HOST." Xander bellowed. He was very angry.

The demon burst from Skaara and into Xander's hand. Daniel and Teal'c were supporting Skaara instantly.

"You want to argue and debate who has the rights to a host? Well why don't you take the slimy worm and then you can argue the fact?" He asked angrily.

Travell and Narim backed away from the angry young man who was brandishing a Goa'uld like a weapon.

"Well?" Xander prompted.

"Surely you can't be serious?" Travell asked in horror.

"So you weren't serious about holding a trial which might allow this worm to control the body of my godson's uncle?" He asked.

"Peace Xander." A calm female voice said.

"Lya?" Daniel said in surprise.

"Greeting my friends." She said with her soft smile. She approached Xander with a brief nod to Gaia. "Xander, as you have said they are primitive. They have hidden themselves away from the universe and not grown with it. Much like the Nox have over the past centuries."

Xander slowly relaxed.

He then quickly raised his hand, Travell and Narim flinching badly, he squashed the struggling snake.

"Do not try my patience again. I will not tolerate those who allow others to suffer." He said fiercely as he turned away.

Gaia hugged him tightly whispering encouragements in his ear to calm him.

"Lord Xander is everything he claims to be. As is Lady Gaia. Recently they revealed themselves to the Nox and opened our eyes to the fact that our refusal to have any involvement was the same as approving of the actions of the Goa'uld. Neither of them have demanded we fight, but they have asked that we teach, heal and advise." She said.

"He claims we are primitive, but I saw his armour. We hold technologies far superior." Narim argued.

"Lord Xander does not refer to your technological status. Merely to your intellect and maturity as citizens of the universe. Your inability to see beyond your single mistake and deny aid is just that. You must not dismiss the people of the universe so lightly. Lord Xander makes friends well, he manages to encourage others to do better. Many of Earth are the same, such as those on SG1."

Narim had some understanding of what Lya was saying. Travell heard but did not accept. Further debate was interrupted as a Goa'uld and troop of Jaffa entered. Xander was instantly on his feet and in his armour between his people and the Goa'uld.

"What is the meaning of this?" The Goa'uld asked. "We demand to speak to Lord Klorel in private."

"Sure, he's right there." Jack said with smirk as he pointed at the Goa'uld carcass on the floor.

"This is an outrage!" The Goa'uld raged. "We came in peace as requested and you murder the one you claim to protect?"

"Silence demon." Xander said quietly. "Explain yourself Travell. And do not mince words. My patience has worn out." Xander was at his most terrifying. Armour clad and sword out.

Travell decided to be blunt. "Two days ago a Goa'uld craft entered our space whilst being pursued by two motherships. They entered our airspace and despite our warnings did not leave. We shot them down. We found Skaara to be the occupant of the crashed craft. He requested aid. As is custom among the Tollan, we contacted a party for each of the Seekers Skaara and Klorel. And a neutral party, the Nox."

"Who was pursuing you?" Xander asked Skaara calmly.

"The forces were of Heru'ur, My Lord." Skaara said shakily. He had just been granted his life by this fearsome warrior. He was not going to screw it up now.

Xander growled. A sound that was more fearsome when translated through his helmet.

"Delta, contact Sayel." He demanded as he stormed to a private corner.

"I really hope you are telling the truth. Otherwise you are in big trouble." Jack said with a wince.

"I thought he did not care for the Goa'uld?" Narim asked in confusion.

"He doesn't. But when he defeats a Goa'uld, he claims their holdings and Jaffa for himself. Helps provide stability and prevents another Goa'uld from enslaving them. Heru'ur was the first Goa'uld he defeated that he claimed the armies from." Jack explained.

"So he does aim to control us!" Travell said triumphantly.

"Nope, they govern themselves. Sayel is his First Prime among the Horus Guard. He is the governor for their people. They have a pretty good system at the moment. They are also fiercely loyal to Lord Xander. I wouldn't insult him in front of them."

Xander suddenly roared in anger. He stormed up to Travell and grasped her by the neck and flung her across the room.

"Sayel showed me the recordings. They asked for communications. You personally gave the order to destroy them. All they wanted was to retrieve the Goa'uld so I could free the host!" he raged.

Travell backed away. She had sprained her wrist as she fell. "Guards! Stop him!"

The guards swarmed in and SG1 huddled Skaara, Lya, Sha're and Nicky into a corner. Xander ejected his backpack and kicked it towards Jack.

The Jaffa attempted to huddle the Goa'uld into a corner. It wasn't easy as he was still stuck from Xander's order.

"HOLD!" A loud voice said.

"Chancellor Omac!" Narim said, grateful for the aid.

"Lord Xander a moment please." Omac asked. Jack recognised the bearded man as the leader of the Tollans they rescued from their abandoned home world.

Xander nodded. But did not stand down.

"Narim, call up the logs for the day in question. I wish to see the activity related to the destruction of the two ships." Omac ordered.

Narim went to work quickly. Tollans were not used to such violence. He had little doubt that Lord Xander could and would slaughter the guards if he chose to.

"I have found the records of their destruction but not of any transmissions." Narim said nervously.

Omac sighed. "Guards, place the High Chancellor under guard, the evidence available leaves us with little recourse but to accept Lord Xander's claim."

The guards looked at each other in confusion.

"I ordered you to stop the intruder!" Travell screeched.

"High Chancellor, if your claims are true, then you will have the opportunity to defend yourself. I believe Lord Xander would allow you the right of a fair triad." Omac said whilst looking questioningly at the armoured Spartan.

"As long as I am assured of impartiality I will allow Tollan law to preside." Xander agreed.

"Guards, you have your orders and evidence which demands investigation. High Chancellor Travell is implicated and her orders are to be ignored until triad has been concluded." Omac said.

The guards lingered a moment longer, but quickly moved when Xander started growling.

Once the guards had escorted Travell out, Omac moved over to Xander.

"I apologise Lord Xander. It would seem you have been a victim of the Tollan. I ask for your cooperation in seeing justice served." He requested formally.

"You will have it. So long as Tollan justice complies with acknowledged rules of justice of the majority of the universe." Xander allowed.

"Of course."

"Omac I thought you didn't approve of us?" Jack asked.

"As I told Doctor Jackson before we left your planet, I believe Narim was correct, as was Lya. You have great potential." Omac said with a small smile.

Xander banished his armour and headed over to Sha're and Nicky.

Nicky was terrified, he was bawling his eyes out.

Xander pushed Sha're onto the floor gently and changed into his kitten form. He burrowed into the toddlers body, trying to provide comfort.

In seconds the crying had quietened to sobs. Within a minute Nicky was dozing into an exhausted sleep.

Xander carefully crawled out from Nicky's grasp and morphed back.

"Daniel, I'm going to take Sha're and Nicky to Joyce. They can see Skaara when he comes back with us." He said.

Daniel quickly came over and checked with his wife and kissed her goodbye.

"Amazing." Omac muttered as Xander vanished with mother and child.

"That's nothing, you should see him wipe out an invading army on his own." Jack scoffed.

"Although his technology and abilities are amazing, I was referring to the change in demeanour that happened so quickly." Omar clarified. "One moment he was debating with Narim and Travell, he saw a threat and he became an avenging warrior. But when confronted with a peaceful solution he became a leader, a commander. And finally he deduced and provided the care for a distressed child and mother.

"That is what I found most impressive. Even Doctor Jackson was focused on one thing at a time and required prompting to attend his wife and son's needs. Lord Xander was aware and reacted as the situation permitted."

"Perhaps I was wrong, maybe the Tollan are not as primitive as they seem." Gaia mused.

"No, you were correct. As a people the Tollan are culturally primitive in the universe. But as I have learned when dealing with SG1 and Earth, you can not judge the individuals by the population or vice versa." Omac disagreed.

"Most wise. I believe Oz would agree." Lya said.

"Oz?" Omac asked.

"Lord Xander's friend and comrade. He is more of a philosopher than a fighter or commander. Oz and Xander compliment each other very well." Lya explained.

"Sorry to break up the philosophy debate, but we have a couple of Jaffa and a… catatonic Goa'uld to deal with. Any ideas?" Jack asked.

"We have to wait for Xander to return. That idiot is bound by Xander's command and I can't interfere." Gaia said.

"Xander knows, he'll be back once he's happy that Nicky and Sha're are safe." Daniel said.

"I would be interested in hearing more about yourself and Lord Xander." Omac told Gaia.

"Perhaps you should come to Earth, or even Abydos. The Tok'ra are now living there under Xander's – Lord Xander's protection. They would all welcome the chance to talk and discuss." Daniel said.

"Is it true? The Horus guards serve your friend O'Neill?" Skaara asked.

"Yeah, he'll take their deaths very hard. He recently lost fifty Jaffa who died protecting Earth. He and General Hammond just came back from visiting the families." Jack assured him.

"You have nothing to worry about Skaara." Sam assured him. "Xander's Jaffa are completely loyal to him."

"Their worse than Hufflepuffs!" Gaia exclaimed.

Everyone just looked at her.

"Don't blame me, _your_ son is into Harry Potter. I've been teaching him to read the books." She said pointedly to Jack and Sam. "He just heard about the movies, so be prepared to be bugged into taking him." She smirked.

Jack grinned whilst Sam grimaced.

"Sam, you already know that magic exists, why would you have a problem with a movie about it?" Daniel asked.

"I prefer to think of 'magic'," she said with air quotes, "as an advanced form of technology." She defended. "So advanced I will never be able to understand or quantify it."

"You have proof magic exists?" Narim asked.

"Magic is just a term for a type of power or ability. So Sam is right about that. But it's not something that any of us really do. It is possible to tap into my powers and perform magic, but Xander and I don't really do magic. It would be like saying Lya does magic." Gaia explained.

Xander reappeared at that moment.

"Nicky is in bed, Sha're and Joyce are enjoying a movie." Xander told Daniel. "Oh and Sha're said: 'Tell my husband to bring my brother home soon. And himself.'" He grinned.

"In other words, 'Don't stay out too late'." Jack quipped.

"Charlie actually asked me to pass that message along verbatim to you." Xander smirked at Jack.

"Lord Xander, the Jaffa and Goa'uld require your attention." Teal'c reminded.

"Yeah, thanks Teal'c." Xander said patting the Jaffa on the shoulder as he approached the frozen Goa'uld.

Xander suddenly stopped and turned to Skaara. "Who currently controls the forces of Apophis?"

"Apophis did." Skaara said. "He returned with a clone of his old body soon after the defeat of Sokar."

"Damn." Xander muttered. "We were hoping he was done for."

"Don't worry, we'll get him another time." Jack assured him.

"Omac, I will arrange an envoy to come on my behalf to liaise regarding the investigations." Xander said.

Omac nodded in acceptance. "Perhaps we can arrange some teaching between our peoples. I for one am very curious about these things you speak of such as magic. Perhaps we can help teach you and move your people beyond the stage of technology you are at now."

"We currently have teams of scientists from Earth, the Tok'ra, the Asgard and the Salish guardians, they are all either working on improving technology, teaching, or expanding on the current ideas. You would be most welcome." Daniel said.

"If you have any cloning technology that would be really good. The Asgard are running out of time and their cloning tech is coming to an end. They have some possible solutions, but we would prefer to establish a more permanent solution." Xander said.

"I will arrange for an envoy to Earth, I will also inform you as to the progress of the investigations with High Chancellor Travell."

Xander requested an aide from the President to work with a team created by Sayel. They would handle the investigations with the Tollan.

Sayel and Xander, spent nearly two months travelling to meet families. Fortunately many lived in the same cities and planets. Gaia travelled with them to support her Champion and boyfriend.

Four hundred Jaffa, dead. Xander also went with Hades to visit them in the Underworld and thank them for their sacrifice. He found some solace in the fact that there was more for them after death. He vowed to ensure the safety and well-being of their families.

* * *

On his return to Earth, Xander announced that he would be taking a week or so off to visit the Alternate Teal'c. He wanted to see how things were going and lay down some plans. SG1 was given permission to join him, Gaia also opted to accompany them.

"Ok, first things first. Since these guys are the visitors to this reality, we will call them by their first names, everyone in this reality we will use titles or last names." Xander declared as they sat down at the SGC briefing table.

Other than Xander, SG1 and Gaia, the native attendants were General Hammond, native Teal'c, Doctor Carter and Major Kawolski.

"What about the two Teal'c's?" Kawaloski asked.

"Col-Jack often calls me 'T', perhaps this will suffice for my stay here?" SG1's Teal'c suggested.

"You know, that's the first time you've used my first name without tacking my last name on." Jack mused.

"And before we get sidetracked down that road, let's agree to call him 'T' and get started." Xander cut in.

"One of the major reasons I came back here so quickly is because in my native reality, I recently lost four-hundred and fifty Jaffa. Fifty were lost to an invasion attempt on Earth and four hundred to a cowardly attack by a single person with access to a lot of weapons.

"My native Earth has had to deal with several incursion attempts and I intend to try and stop them here before they begin. To start with, Major Carter, Sam, will be working with your tech guys to implement the various security measures we have back home as well as updating your databases with ours and of course, ours with yours."

"Isn't there a chance that some information won't be accurate in our reality?" Doctor Carter asked.

"We agree, but all info from our reality, or an alternate to yours will be marked as such so you know that it needs to be verified." Sam explained.

"Yeah, it's not to be relied on, but it should be considered at the very least." Xander continued. "Daniel will be speaking with your archaeologists and anthropologists and whatnots to update them and teach them about the various races we have encountered.

"Jack, Teal'c – I mean T - and I will be working with Teal'c and General Hammond and their people to establish a plan. I intend for this reality to be far more pro-active than my native reality, mainly because you will have our information before you encounter a situation. I want you to learn from our mistakes."

Xander, T and Jack sat with the native Teal'c, General Hammond and newly promoted Charles Kawalski at the briefing table.

"What I want you to do is use covert techniques to get close to each System Lord then call for me." Xander explained. He had already informed them that he would be able to hear them call for him. "Then I can take command of their forces and place them under my command and protection. The sooner we do this the less chance that we will have to fend off attacks within our own territories."

"Just so I am hearing you right… you are essentially asking us to… conquer the galaxy?" Kawalski queried apprehensively.

"Nope, I am asking you to forcibly take stewardship of my domain and remove the threats to my people." Xander smirked.

"But yeah, 'conquer the galaxy' is what it boils down to." Jack said with a roll of his eyes.

The rest of the meeting was spent refining Xander's big complex plan and establishing an outline for a ruling body.

"Hey, kid!" Kawalski called out as Xander turned one of the many corridors of the SGC. "I mean, Lord Xander."

"To be honest, I prefer your first try." Xander grinned.

"Yeah, but our Teal'c looked ready to tear my arms off for not using your full title." Kawalski said with a hint of fear.

"I'll work on him." Xander promised with a chuckle. "So, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I figure that since I existed in your world and the Colonel existed here, you might know something about…"

Xander sighed, he had been worried about this. "Your daughter, Faith."

"Oh god, what's wrong?" Kawalski panicked not liking the look on Xander's face.

"What's wrong is that, she isn't your daughter, your daughter lived in this reality."

"My daughter _died_ in this reality!" Kawalski growled.

"Was she evil? A murderer, rapist, involved in hurting people?" Xander asked calmly.

"What? No! She was a good girl who I failed because I left her with her druggie mom." Kawalski scowled.

"Then right now she should be perfectly happy in what is known as the underworld- _which is not hell!_" Xander added quickly. "The underworld is where people go who don't deserve Heaven or Hell. Heaven is reserved for _really_ special people."

"My daughter _was_ special." He argued.

"No doubt, but she wouldn't be happy in Heaven. Where she is now, you will be able to join her and enjoy eternity in Utopia with her.

"Kawalski, how is your daughter going to feel when you get to your reality in the Underworld and you have to explain why you were obsessing over getting a replacement daughter?"

Xander vanished on the spot, leaving a confused and bewildered Charles Kawalski pondering life, death and everything around it.

Xander and SG1 left later that day leaving instructions to call for him when they needed him. Kawalski quietly approached Xander and they stepped to the side.

"Lord Xander, I am sorry for my behaviour ea-"

"Easy Kawalski, no need for that. I'm no stranger to loss and grief." Xander snorted depressively. "Have you figured out how you are going to deal with your loss?"

"I'm gonna do my best around here and make my girl proud of me by the time I see her." Kawalski said standing tall.

"Good, just… don't try and do it all alone. Find yourself a nice girl and settle down so Faith has someone to share you with when you get there. Eternity is a long time after all."

* * *

Things progressed quietly on the Sunnydale front. The Scoobies and AI's investigated the Deputy Mayor who had killed himself on Faith's stake and discovered some frightening things. At first they thought the Mayor might be a Goa'uld, he was over one hundred years old.

A quick walk by from the Jaffa ruled that out.

This placed it firmly in the domain of the Scoobies and well out of the leagues of the SGC.

Having finally gotten around to interrogating the invaders from the foothold situation, Xander extracted the location of their home world. Xander travelled there covertly and using Delta extracted all their information. Satisfied that these were creatures of evil he planted several naquada enhanced nukes on the planet and destroyed them all. Not something the Taur'i approved of, but they could understand. Sayel sent out ships to planets that had fallen victim to the invaders to try and help and offer protection or liberation.

Xander was called back in an emergency when it was discovered that a sect of demons planned to open the Hellmouth. Members of the Sisterhood of Jhe had been caught by the Scoobs. Further investigation had revealed their intent and the exact time and location. Whilst Giles and the Slayers prepared for an all out assault on the library and a possible battle with a hell beast, Oz called Xander.

"So a bunch of female demons are gonna attack the library and perform a ceremony to open the Hellmouth?" Xander asked.

"Sounds like." Oz confirmed.

"And Giles, Buffy and Faith are planning on trying to ambush them in the library… the place they are trying to reach?"

"Yeah."

"Can't you sniff them out?" Xander asked.

"I already know where they are, but they are quite strong and versatile. Beheading is the best option. Although massive trauma takes them out for a while."

"Ok, it's still risky but less risky than Giles' plan." Xander mused. "Let them hold the library, you maintain patrol through the school. I'll implement a plan that hopefully means they won't even hear the Sisterhood." Xander said as he vanished.

"I know he's pretty much a military genius at times, but he could still explain his plans." Oz muttered as he wandered off to the library.

* * *

It was later that night and the Sisterhood was approaching the library. Being demons they weren't the most observant of creatures. But then even trained individuals would have a hard time spotting the SG team hidden around the courtyard.

Just as the last demon entered the courtyard the command was given.

"Now!"

There was a bright flash and all but one of the Sisterhood vanished.

"Take her out." Came the whispered cry.

The last demon was looking around in shock, her sisters were gone. Vanished in a white a light. This was bad magic.

The next thing she saw a blinding bolt heading for her.

She never heard the second and third bolts that erased her from existence.

"Clear!" Came the call.

It was answered in kind.

The SG team assembled in the courtyard.

"Gate Ship, this is SG3, please confirm the area is clear?" Colonel Makepeace requested over the comms.

"SG3, this is Gate Ship. We can confirm that all hostiles designated as the Sisterhood are accounted for except one." Came the response. "We registered it destroyed by your team. Please confirm."

"Confirmed Gate Ship. What is the status of the rest of the hostiles?"

"Successful elimination. No friendly casualties. It played out as Lord Xander predicted."

"Good to hear. We'll inform Team Scooby and run a quick patrol." Makepeace said.

"Please hold SG3."

"Holding."

There was a few minutes silence as the SG team awaited the return of the comms officer.

"SG3, we are picking up four readings entering the High School. Team Scooby and the Jaffa are still stationed in the library and SG4 is patrolling a local cemetery."

"Roger that Gate Ship. We will rendezvous with Team Scooby and request tactical assistance in case it's a group of locals."

Oz met SG3 at the entrance. O'Mally had been keeping him up to date.

"I smell 'em. They seem dead." Oz said before Makepeace could speak.

They quickly made their way to the basement following Oz's nose and confirming with AI reports.

Oz had left the Scoobies and Jaffa in the library claiming he could smell something was off. Which was the truth.

The sight of four decomposing students was bad enough. The smell was turning Oz green. He was wearing his custom ODST armour as were the Scoobies and SG3. But due to his nose and ears being a primary asset, he generally left the helmet off.

He was deeply regretting that.

"O'Toole? How did I miss that smell?" Oz said fighting his gag reflex.

"Oz! You and your friends are just in time to-"

"Oh god, would you please waste 'em." Oz moaned as he stepped aside.

Four seconds later and the air was clearing thanks to the bodies being vapourised.

"Oz, shouldn't we have waited to get them to dismantle the bomb?" One of the SG team asked.

Oz just snorted. "I doubt there is a bomb that O'Mally can't handle, besides, we can always beam it into space. O'Mally?"

"Fine, but I do this under protest!" The maniacal AI complained. "You promised I would have a chance to work on my doomsday devices or some explosives."

"Yes, yes. If I can't do it myself I'll have you switch out with Delta and you can join Xander for a while, or I'll ask Jack to take you. Those two are constantly in explosive scenarios."

"Oh, oh! Give me to Jack. He is always getting shot at!" He cried excitedly.

"Fine, can we get back to the bomb?" Oz asked pointedly.

"Oh, that. Just pull that wire on top." He said in a bored manner.

That accomplished Makepeace ordered his men to arrange disposal of the bomb whilst he and Oz went to check on the others in the library.

"Colonel Makepeace, I thought you and your team were out patrolling?" Giles said with surprise at seeing the SGC leader.

"Slight change of plans." He said looking to Oz.

Oz rolled his eyes as the older man chickened out.

"I called Xander. Figured he might have a better idea than 'wait for them to come and beat the crap out of them'. He arranged for SG3 to monitor the courtyard. As the demons entered he had the AI's beam them to a nearby quarry where a squad of Jaffa were waiting. They zatted them away."

The three Scoobies stood there staring at Oz in shock.

The Jaffa who were also stationed in the library had already been informed and were snickering quietly.

Buffy eventually broke from her stupor.

"You mean to tell me that after all this planning and worrying, we could have left it to you guys and just done a standard patrol?"

"Well, it was probably best that you were here in case it failed for some reason. One of the demons escaped the beam out, but SG3 got it. If more had escaped, you would have been needed." Oz said trying to placate his increasingly irate girlfriend.

"Plus there were the bomb planting zombies in the basement." Makepeace added.

"Zombies?" Giles asked.

"Couple of ex students who had been… resurrected in a non-vampire route." Oz said.

"Bomb?" Faith asked a little more worried.

"Don't worry, O'Mally helped disarm it." Oz assured her.

"For some reason, the thought of the doomsday device creating AI being responsible for disarming a device that would kill us, does not leave me much room to _not_ worry." Faith said.

Church picked that moment to beam in. "Are you guys done? The girls have set up the movies and popcorn is waiting."

"Church, did you know that SG3 was going to handle the Sisterhood?" Faith asked folding her arms and tapping her foot in annoyance.

Having dated Tex years before, Church realised he was destined for the doghouse.

"Can we just pretend I didn't and move on?" He asked lamely.

"Did the other girls know about his?" Giles asked.

Church sighed and turned to Oz. "I told you we should tell them. Now we are going to be paying for this for em_years/em_!"

"I'm going to go help my squad with the bomb. Perhaps the Jaffa could maintain a watch here just in case." Makepeace suggested as he made a tactical exit.

* * *

Beyond that Sunnydale was relatively quiet. Although Oz and Church had to do quite a bit of grovelling.

Xander made trips back and forth between the realties as Alternate Teal'c systematically got close to the System Lords and Xander killed them and claimed their domains.

Xander also received the odd call from the SGC.

During a routine exploration trip through the gate to what appeared to be a nice tropical beach, SG1 returned with no memory of the event and a chip embedded in their brains.

Not to mention an annoying AI that no one could see but them.

Once it was clear it was an AI, they called in Church. But Church could only discover how to tap into the AI to make it visible to everyone. He couldn't disable or remove it.

Jack, being Jack, got very annoyed and called for Xander.

Xander sent them through the gate and then followed them. The being on the other side got an earful from Xander about experimenting on creatures without permission. Xander pressed the issue and ordered his butt to Abydos to join the scientists there in discussion. It was hard for the large humanoid to argue with Xander when he was in full armour and not a little bit pissed.

Togar, the alien who implanted the AI, was just a bit traumatised by his meeting with Xander. The Tok'ra had to assure him that he wouldn't really hurt him.

Martouf advised Xander not to be around Togar in his armour. He threatened to make Xander clean up the mess.


	28. Chapter 28

Xander planned to drop out of school. He was hardly ever there. He would take the tests and hope for the best. He was simply too busy to actually attend school and assist his people and the SGC. For now he focused on his people and the occasional issues in other realities. He had great fun wading through one particular dimension where vampires controlled Sunnydale. Apparently the Hellmouth was only in his reality, but demons had managed to escape to certain other realities. But not all, fortunately.

On arriving at the SGC soon after dealing with Togar, George reported that SG1 was worried that a meteor shower could affect the survival of an inhabited planet they were on. They would likely need to relocate the locals.

Xander popped in on Sam and got the low down.

"So yesterday you had a near miss, each year it get closer and tonight you're worried about being directly in the path?" He asked.

"Yes, and some of these meteors could be planet killers." She added.

"Ok, and just how far spread around the planet are the inhabitants?"

"About five hundred square miles, mainly in small villages. They never developed a need to travel further." Sam explained.

"Does this planet have any strategic relevance or natural resources?"

"Naquada." Sam said with a shrug. "We really only need to evacuate a few for a few days, this only happens every 150 years or so."

"Yeah, but there is always a risk." Xander said as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Ok, I'll go find some ships. See if Thor can spare any and we'll set up a defence system. We can then think about an orbital station later. We have 150 years after all."

"You really think we can stop all of the meteors?" Sam asked.

"We only have to stop the big ones. The smaller ones will burn up right?" Sam nodded. "Ok, so I call in my ships and we beam the locals to the other side of the planet, then we stick around and wipe out the big rocks."

"How do you come up with this stuff?" Sam asked in awe.

Xander shrugged. "Dunno, just seems like common sense to me. Guess I don't tend to over think things."

There were a few close calls but the planet and villages were safe. Xander added orbital defence platforms to the list of things the scientists needed to work on.

Jack commented that only Xander could turn a deadly meteor show into a game of Asteroids.

* * *

Xander realised that his forces couldn't be everywhere. So he began authorising the next level of UNSC tech. Namely warships and fighters.

Whilst Earth would focus on making something that could travel at sub light speeds, the inter-galactic team of scientists would work on an ideal intergalactic engine.

Daniel had finally come up with an emblem for the Jaffa loyal to Xander to replace their existing forehead tattoos with. The Plasma Sword with Xander's sword in it's original form through the middle. All pointing up.

Sayel was the first in line with Teal'c right behind him.

* * *

It was soon into March as the meeting to reveal the Stargate project to world leaders began that Colonel Makepeace revealed startling news.

He had asked for a meeting with General Hammond, Colonel O'Neill and Lord Xander.

"This is your meeting Colonel." General Hammond said leaving the floor open to him.

Colonel Robert Makepeace stood at attention.

"Sirs, it is with regret that I must inform you of my actions that may have brought the SGC into disrepute. I have been recruited as a smuggler of sorts by a civilian agency to acquire alien tech that could help defend this planet."

Needless to say the three men were shocked.

"You realise you just admitted to high treason?" General Hammond asked in disbelief.

"I do sir. But, I also know that my actions are unnecessary and in fact detrimental. I have come forward because of Lord Xander. He has proven to me that there are people out there that are willing to help us. But my actions when discovered will put at risk all alliances currently held by the SGC.

"I am willing to accept my fate and confess as necessary to protect those alliances."

"Damn it Robert." Jack said smacking the table in frustration. "You were one of the best of us."

"Perhaps I can regain some of the respect through my actions." He said tiredly.

It was clear that Makepeace was very upset. Perhaps more so than the three men he had chosen to confess to. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks.

"Colonel, why now?" Xander asked.

Makepeace cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I have been uncomfortable with my orders against this command for some time. I had hoped that they would cease due to the aid and technology you yourself have acquired on our behalf.

"But… the orders are in fact becoming more insistent. They are requesting technology which we have no real need for. I question the reasons now behind these new requests.

"My assignments in Sunnydale have prevented me from carrying out my orders. But now that my tour is over there, I have no valid reason. If I fail my family will be in danger and they will simply recruit someone else."

General Hammond was trying to figure out how to handle this.

"George, can I borrow Jack and Robert for an hour? I'd like to retrieve his family before his confession leaks out." Xander said.

"Make it quick Xander. I will hold off calling the President until you get back." George said as he walked into his office, is face tight with anger.

True to his word Xander returned with Jack, Robert and family within an hour.

Robert had made a much more tearful confession to his wife and daughter. His baby girl was unaware of danger she was now in.

Xander however decided to deposit Robert's wife and child with Joyce and Sha're. The Day Care Centre was guarded by disguised Jaffa chosen by Sayel.

The four men assembled in the briefing room.

"Colonel Robert Makepeace, you are hereby charged with high treason against the United States of America. Colonel O'Neill, please place him under arrest."

"A moment if you please, General." Xander interrupted.

"As you will." George allowed tightly. He wanted this dealt with quickly. It was a blemish on his command in his eyes.

"Robert, do you know how they go about getting the technology? It obviously doesn't leave the SGC."

"I make drops on the planets I am sent to. Someone then gates in after we leave and retrieves it. They have an offworld base somewhere."

"I recommend we have Robert make his next drop, we can then track and follow the retriever." Xander said.

George and Jack exchanged a silent conversation.

"I'll go and call the President." George said.

* * *

It was an intense few days for Robert. He wasn't due offworld for two more days, but Xander's proposal had been approved.

General Hammond and Xander had arranged for SG1 to be 'captured' so that SG3 would have to attend a pre-scheduled meeting with the Tollan.

They were due to attend the hearing regarding Travell's actions against Xander's ships. Omac and Narim had been prepped.

The hearing was merely a report to confirm the culpability of Travell and the Tollan. Also a declaration was made that the Tollan would take responsibility for the families of the Jaffa they had affected.

Once the hearing was over they returned home. Only to find Robert couldn't find much more than the tablets they were provided that held the reading material.

Xander nipped back and returned with Omac's personal shield.

But SG3 was not due to their next mission for another two days.

SG1 was 'rescued' by Xander. Jack grouched privately about having to add a fake rescue to the record board.

When SG3 shipped out on their scheduled mission, Xander teleported along in armour and under cloak.

He waited for SG3 to leave and once the retriever dialled in and then out again, he followed through.

The offworld site was a cave of treasures.

Asgard, Tok'ra, even some of his own equipment. That last one stumped him as it was freely given.

Xander couldn't be bothered to confront them, he set off a Jaffa stun grenade and then began tossing the bodies through the gate.

One of his ships was on route with the Tok'ra to recover the stolen items.

The icing on the cake was the evidence and confessions linking Maybourne to the whole mission. That and the fact that he called the Goa'uld communications device whilst Jack and Xander were looking at it.

Unfortunately they could not implicate the NID. They had arranged it so that each project was its own scapegoat.

Score one for the bad guys.

* * *

It was a bright sunny day. There was a mild breeze that was perfect. Mothers took their babies to the park to play in the sun.

Xander was stuck in a windowless room with a host of men in stuffed suits or military uniforms.

It was the day of the big reveal.

Only the President of the United States, the Prime Minister of Great Britain and her Majesty the Queen knew what the deal was. Of course, none of the nations leaders actually came. They sent people in their stead. Mainly Ambassadors.

General Hammond was leading the meeting of the current major leaders.

"Gentlemen, we have asked you here today-"

"I apologise for my tardiness." A voice that George and Xander both hated burst into the room.

Senator Robert Kinsey had heard at the last minute about this meeting. He saw it as the perfect opportunity to rescue the Stargate from Hammond and his band of fools. O'Neill and his team had brought the United States of America to the brink of annihilation time and again. They needed to be stopped and he was the man to do it.

"Senator Kinsey, this is a classified and private meeting." General Hammond said not bothering to conceal his annoyance.

"Someone needs to be here to represent the United States of America. And I volunteered. We don't send the military to represent us in these types of meetings." Kinsey argued.

"Actually, we do. It's why I am here." George argued. "I'm afraid I will have to ask you to wait outside whilst I check with the President regarding your claims."

"Threats like that could cost you your career General." Kinsey said pointedly.

"The General made no threats. Please wait outside whilst he checks or I will have you forcibly ejected." Xander said firmly.

Kinsey went to object but Xander called for the guards and he was subsequently removed.

"Please excuse me a moment and I'll have a word with the President." Xander said with a smile.

The representatives were confused. They knew of Kinsey. Didn't like him, but knew of him. They recognised a General but had no clue who the young man was that accompanied him.

Xander returned shortly looking very annoyed.

"Bring the idiot in, he apparently did some… nasty bargaining." Xander said.

"I will have your job for this General." Kinsey said angrily as he took his seat.

"Having just spoken to the President I can assure you that the General's job is probably the most secure job on the planet." Xander said rolling his eyes. "Now shut up and pay attention. You are wasting our time."

George began again. "First and foremost, gentlemen, welcome to the Pentagon. Please forgive any security measures you've had to undergo in order to get here. In America, we try never to underestimate the competence or curiosity of our media.

"Gentlemen. We have asked you here because on the advice of Her Majesty, The Queen of England, we wish to reveal to you a situation of universal importance." George said starting his speech before Kinsey could respond.

George went on to explain the founding of the Stargate Program. He then reached the parts that involved Xander.

"Whilst visiting his father-in-law on Abydos to inform him of the results of the search for his wife, Doctor Jackson and Master Teal'c discovered not only Doctor Jackson's wife but Lord Xander here as well."

"I object to the title of 'Lord'." Kinsey interrupted.

"Senator, this is not a trial, and you are not here to give the presentation. Please hold your peace until appropriate." General Hammond said sternly.

"I cannot stand by and allow that child to use a title not befitting." Kinsey stood angrily pointing at Xander.

"Senator, you would do well to watch yourself. The Queen herself has bestowed the title of 'Lord' upon Lord Xander." The British representative said. He was not about to allow this American upstart to insult his monarch.

Kinsey however had no response for that.

"Thank you Ambassador." George said, the Queens actions were exactly for this sort of situation. "Now, Lord Xander is perhaps the most unique being in this universe. He has agreed to reveal his personal history. But I must warn you, the American and British government will support any action he takes, he is a diplomat in this country and Great Britain. Both of our governments will protect him by any means necessary.

"The reasons for this will become apparent as he explains his history."

George sat down as Xander stood.

"My name is Alexander Harris. I am known throughout the universe as Lord Xander. The General has told you of the threat from outer space. I am here to tell you about the threat from evil on our very planet.

"Most aspects of the supernatural recorded as myth are in fact true. Some of your governments will already know about this. To save time, could I get a quick show of hands as to who em_does/em _know?"

Apparently all the nations represented knew.

"Good, means I don't have to do too much of a history lesson and stick to my story.

"I live in California, in a town called Sunnydale. Underneath the high school library is a portal to Hell. It has generally remained dormant over the past decades and centuries. But every now and again some fools try and open it to release Hell on Earth."

"Who would do something so foolish?" The Russian representative, a Colonel Chekov asked.

"Mainly demons and vampires, we have had to thwart such actions about once a year." Xander explained.

"Anyway, I found out about this when a new girl transferred to my school. I overheard her discussions and discovered she was a Slayer and the Librarian was her watcher. Again, to hopefully save time, are you all aware of the Slayer and Watchers?"

Surprisingly they all were. It was hard not to know about the Supernatural and not know about these things.

"Good, so to simplify things and cut out some pretty basic stuff, I discovered the supernatural and my friends and I joined her to fight the evil.

"An important event that occurred is my possession by a primal spirit. All though the ritual was performed to remove it, it stayed around as a houseguest, none of us realised.

"Later that year a Master Vampire attempted to open the Hellmouth. The Slayer was killed in the process. I revived her with CPR and she defeated the Master and closed the Hellmouth."

"Just so we're clear, you tend to save the world as much as the American Air Force?" The French representative asked.

"Technically yes, but the fact is that Lord Xander is responsible for assisting SG1 in saving the world most of the time. Both parties are capable of succeeding without him, but he is not a man who stands aside to let others suffer." George explained.

"Ah, I understand." He said.

Xander continued.

"My actions caused a new situation. There were now two Slayers. The first had died, but been revived. She still died though, so a new Slayer was called.

"Moving on a few months to Halloween of that year, a Chaos Mage cast a spell that changed all those people wearing his costumes, into the personas of those costumes. Children became real demons complete with physiological changes. Pirates too, and their weapons also became real.

"My choice of costume was from a computer game. Halo 3. I became a real Spartan soldier. But not the Master Chief as that costume was gone. My possessor was a special agent who had been involved in a confrontation with a rogue soldier who had stolen multiple AI's and technology. Certain circumstances meant that my character now had all those AI's crammed in his head. They were likely to drive him insane as they had the rogue soldier.

"My possessor, whose name was Wash, began tracking the source of his troubles and located the Chaos mage at the same time as the Watcher. It seems that they were friends in the past, but now had some rivalry.

"As a means of getting back at the Watcher, the Mage altered the spell on me. It became permanent. When the spell was broken, everyone else reverted.

"I was left with my armour and a host of AI's."

Xander paused as he let the information sink in.

"I am familiar with the game, my sons play it and I have watched them a time or two. Are you saying you have access to futuristic advanced armour and weaponry?" The French Ambassador asked.

"I am."

This made them sit back and think.

Xander gave them a few more minutes before continuing.

"A few weeks later the Mage returned when pursued by a demon that he and the Watcher had raised in their rebellious youth. Whilst attempting to defeat the demon who had no physical form and could only possess the dead or unconscious, I was possessed by the demon."

Xander paused again and took a deep breath.

"Now remember I said that the Primal Spirit stuck around? It basically kicked the demons butt.

"Whilst that was happening a new being approached my friends and told them what was happening.

"Once I was… better, she introduced herself as Gaia, the Goddess of the Universe."

At this Kinsey scoffed. But Xander ignored him.

"One of these Goa'uld?" The Chinese representative asked.

"No, and don't ever suggest that again. The Goa'uld are actually the lowest and weakest form of demons. Gaia is a heavenly being. She is a literal goddess created by the Almighty to manage and govern the universe."

"The Almighty? As in _THE_ God?" The French Ambassador asked.

"Yes. There are a few god's who are responsible for different dimensions. Gaia is responsible for ours, Hades for the underworld."

This was a big pill to swallow for the gathered men.

"I for one have met this so called 'Almighty'." Kinsey said in derision. "She is a mute young lady, she probably uses spells or technology, but I do _not_ believe she is our Holy God. It is my belief that she and this child are imposters trying to control us. This meeting is just another step in their plans."

"Kinsey, you remember I was given full authority to deal with you any way I please? Shut up before I exercise that authority." Xander said angrily.

"I agree, I have not met God personally, but Her Majesty the Queen has. She has witnessed their actions and has assured me of their validity. Senator you continue to speak out of turn and make accusations that not only insult Lord Xander and the Almighty, but also my Queen. You step very close to an international incident." The British Ambassador said angrily.

Kinsey maybe stubborn, he wasn't stupid though. He shut up.

"So, Gaia introduced herself and made me, specifically, an offer. She wanted me to become her Champion in the universe.

"To explain her need a little, she is a deity in her own right. But there are rules and laws set down by the Almighty. They involve free will mostly. She cannot interfere with the universe directly, in a way that will make significant alterations. Which is why she wanted me to be able to act on her behalf. Her Champion.

"Having explained what this meant, I agreed, my duties would remain similar to what they were then. Maintain watch over the Hellmouth.

"But I would be granted various powers and abilities to aid my work.

"You will be provided written reports of activity on the Hellmouth, but I will give you a run down of my abilities… and destiny.

"I am essentially immortal. I can be killed, but it takes a _lot_. I can transform into any creature native to this universe. I can teleport anywhere in this universe, between realities and dimensions as well, as long as I have been there, or know someone where I am going.

"I can understand and speak to anyone, regardless of language.

"I can literally order the Goa'uld to leave the host.

"My sword," He said as he with drew his pocket knife and reverted it to it's original form, "is the sword of Joshua. Gifted to me by the Host of Heaven. They count me among their number. My sword can become any bladed weapon…" he ran it through various forms, ending with a lightsaber, "… _any_ bladed weapon. It can only be wielded by me.

"I can summon my armour at will.

"I am destined to become a god like Gaia and Hades." Xander finished with a sigh.

The representatives sat there staring in shock.

The French Ambassador cleared his throat and sat forward uncomfortably.

"You don't seem too pleased with the prospect of becoming a… god." He noted.

"Once that happens, I will be in the same boat as Gaia, I won't be allowed to directly affect things, I won't be able to offer help and aid.

"Gaia once explained to me why having a Champion was so important to her. She spent millions of years, the entirety of this universes creation, being unable to help in anyway. She can order or request people to do things. But she cannot physically stop a man from beating a woman.

"Millions of years forced to watch and helpless to intervene. That is my destiny." He said sadly.

"Lord Xander's primary mission is to help bring the Universe to a state of stability before he attains godhood." George explained. "Every time he defeats a Goa'uld he claims the planets and people as his own. He has brought peace to thousands of Jaffa and their families. But they have been so in awe of him that they gladly follow him into battle.

"Lord Xander allows them to govern themselves.

"Because of Lord Xander we have numerous powerful allies and friends who we offer aid to and who gladly aid us. Without Lord Xander, we would have been dismissed as too primitive to join the intergalactic community."

"This is all very interesting, but why are you revealing this? I doubt that the British and American governments are willing to share that technology." The Chinese representative said snidely.

"Not on a country basis. The United States is forbidden, by Lord Xander and our allies, from employing the technologies on Earth for anything other than fighting the supernatural or a possible alien incursion. Lord Xander and our Allies tend to oversee those missions." George said.

"In the Halo game, there was the UNSC. The United Nations Space Command. I would like Earth to form a similar military body dedicated to the defense of this planet and exploration." Xander informed them.

"Surely exploration is what got us into this mess in the first place?" The French Ambassador said incredulously.

"My exact argument Ambassador." Kinsey said triumphantly.

"The humans around the galaxy, they all came from Earth. The Goa'uld would have found us eventually, and we would be enslaved." Xander said.

"I still maintain that we could defeat any who would come to enslave us." Kinsey said.

"I am afraid my people must be informed, we are clearly in danger from invasion. The Chinese government does not keep secrets from its people." The Chinese Representative declared.

"No you won't." Xander said calmly.

"See!" Kinsey declared. "His true colours show. He wants control."

"If you reveal this information outside of your government you will cause world wide panic. To date we have successfully stopped attacks. The world has been none the wiser." George said firmly.

"You got lucky." Kinsey said snidely.

The Chinese Ambassador rose from his seat. "I must contact my government."

"Sir, we offered this information in the spirit of cooperation. We are seeking to create a coalition to defend this planet." George said.

"Under your leadership?"

"We have the experience."

"Unacceptable as long as the Stargate and any resulting technologies remain under US Military control." He declared angrily.

"Perhaps a compromise?" Chekov suggested.

"We could move the Stargate to a neutral location and draw staff from each nation." The French Ambassador proposed.

"I'm afraid we can't agree to that." George said.

"Well, the choice may not be up to you. Once the rest of the world learns of the Stargate they may well demand it." The Chinese representative stated.

"I meant that we can't agree to that because the United States does not own the Stargate or the technologies." George said calmly.

"Then who does?" He asked in shock.

"I do." Xander said.

The assembled men just sat there staring at him.

"The Stargate is located on one of my ships. In orbit above the Earth. It is located in a pressurized cargo bay that means if someone makes it past the iris, we can flush them into space. We can also eject the gate in its entirety."

"This was actually the initial recommendation of Lord Xander. Based on the Stargate implementations on his own planets." George said.

"That is theft!" Kinsey declared. "That Stargate is Earth property. So are the technologies. We demand that you turn them over."

"Everything apart from the Zat guns and Staff weapons, are technologies developed from my property or by using my technologies. Which by rights makes them mine." Xander said.

"That does not sound very ethical." The French Ambassador mused.

"If I wanted to I could kill everyone on this planet on my own. Or I could call in my ships and annihilate the planet from existence. For the past year I have been protecting the planet and the Universe from the evils out there. For the past two to three years I have been protecting the universe from the evils of Hell. The technologies mean very little to me personally. But they keep my people safe and aid them in keeping others safe." Xander said.

"The Gate Ship, as it is called, is manned by US personnel. I say we have them seize control and return the gate to civilian Earth control." Kinsey declared.

"Kinsey, you have just proposed a treasonous act." Xander sighed. "I have had enough of you."

Xander tilted his head skywards and spoke.

"My Lord, you gave me authority to handle this man as I saw fit. I do not wish to kill unnecessarily. I request the punishment of Zechariah."

Kinsey just smirked at him.

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"You removed his ability to speak?" The British Ambassador asked.

"I requested it, God did it." Xander said sadly. "General, he is still guilty of conspiracy to commit high treason." Xander said.

"Indeed." George agreed gravely. He called the guards in and they dragged a mute and frightened Kinsey away.

"The threat of invasion is real gentlemen. But so is the offer of cooperation. The United States Air Force has the support of Great Britain and numerous powerful allies including myself and the heavenly population. I will not allow you to endanger this planet by releasing the information. I will kill if I have to. But, if you agree to work with us and support us… you will be gladly welcomed." Xander said.

"The British government will gladly vouch for the intentions of the American Government and Lord Xander." The British Ambassador said.

The Chinese Ambassador sat down heavily in his chair.

"I understand what you are saying. I also have some faith in your intentions. But I must warn you that I doubt my government will accept your demands."

"If you feel that is the case I will personally meet with them when you debrief them." Xander said. "The safety of the _entire_ world is my concern and responsibility. Not just America and Britain."

"Likewise, my government will see this as another reason to distrust the west." Chekov said.

"We will approach your governments as necessary." Xander offered.

"I believe I can convince my government. Though they will want to see immediate results." The French Ambassador said.

"We can't let you send teams through the gate without training and initial supervision, but we can accept staffing personnel this side of the gate and on our backup sites." George said.

"I will also accept scientists to join the various think tanks at work amongst my people. As well as personnel to learn from my men." Xander said.

"We are hoping to have international teams making regular trips within two years. The teams need to be trained in Gate Protocol and specialized equipment. The last thing we need is a team stranded somewhere because they can't figure out how to get back, or to insult the locals. All teams consist of a member who has diplomatic or anthropological experience and training and a member with scientific training. So the teams will hopefully be built that way." George explained.

"Within three years we hope to have mixed teams. Remember, we are looking to create a true International Force. They are to go out under the banner of Earth. Not America, Britain, France, China or Russia." Xander reminded them.

"To be honest, it sounds like we have little choice. We either help out or get left behind." Chekov said.

"Not at all. Space exploration wise, yes. But Lord Xander and his people will be carefully monitoring all military hardware to ensure that it is NOT used on this planet against other countries." George said.

"Who is admittedly an American native." The Chinese Representative remarked.

"Sir, I have bigger fish to fry than paranoid humans. I have entire planets to care for. Earth, really isn't that much of a problem other than the fact that my family is here. The people on my other planets actually like me." He said pointedly.

"Actually they love him." George corrected. "Lord Xander recently lost over four hundred and fifty men in two separate incidents. Fifty of those men were under my command on Earth and the Gate ship. He personally spent nearly two months visiting the families of the Jaffa who died."

"That's a lot of men." The French Ambassador said in horror.

"Two of my ships were shot down without provocation. Each ship held over two hundred men." Xander said glumly.

"I believe we have much to discuss. But first we must inform our governments." The French Ambassador said.

The following week was spent going to visit, and in some cases threaten, the leaders of the five nations.

It was the suggestion of the Russian representative, Colonel Chekov, that all five leaders plus Lord Xander and General Hammond attend the meetings.

At which point Xander had a word with the Chinese and Russian representatives about how hard they thought it would be to convince their leaders to keep it quiet.

Xander then secretly arranged to essentially kidnap the five leaders and the representatives as well as General Hammond. This included the US president.

Nothing too malicious. A simple beam up to the Gate Ship and a dose of show and tell. None of them were pleased. But Xander refused to apologise claiming it was too important to leave to chance.

Surprisingly the Russian President was easier to convince than the French President. The Chinese President was threatening to declare war and all manner of things. Unfortunately only Xander and the Chinese Representative knew this, as the President couldn't speak English.

Xander got fed up with him and donned his armour and dragged him off to somewhere.

"I'm sure they'll be back safe and sound." George assured them. "Quite frankly, the safest place in the Universe is in Lord Xander's presence."

When they returned twenty minutes later, the Chinese President was white as a sheet. He conceded everything and ordered troops to be prepared to undergo training.

With the Stargate Program now an International Project Xander was sure he would be bouncing all over the world.

But George insisted that he stay in Sunnydale as much as possible.

The truth was that George and Gaia had discussed this, they wanted him to have as much of a normal life as possible whilst his friends were in school and college.

Xander would have scoffed at the idea.

Xander made a few rescues and missions over the following weeks. Rescuing SG1 from the middle of a Religious war. He basically stormed in, threatened SG1's captors and told them to end the war and sort themselves out or he'd be back and he'd sort them out himself.

Teal'c picked up a fan on the way.

A young scholar, who instantly got to work on Daniels backlog. Much to Sha're's pleasure.

* * *

Back in Sunnydale the news was bad. The Mayor was planning to ascend and become a full demon.

Worse, he was invulnerable to harm for 100 days till the date of his ascension.

Graduation day.

They needed a plan.

The Scoobies and AI's desperately trawled for information. What they found was disturbing. The Mayor would turn into a 60 foot demon snake who would need to eat the student body once the transformation was complete.

Xander's first idea was to evacuate the town. No bodies no deaths.

But they needed to deal with the snake still. Something the Mayor wouldn't see coming.

Oz's idea of pummeling him with humice was put on the back burner.

Xander didn't like the idea of having troops around as that would mean more potential bodies. And they had no idea if standard weaponry or alien weaponry would have an effect.

In the end Xander went and had a talk with Gaia and God, he had an idea of what to do, but he wasn't entirely sure so he needed confirmation. He got the information he needed and he would be able to handle the Mayor on his own, and the Scoobies could beam down with SG3 and 4 and the Jaffa to deal with the Vamps and demons afterwards if necessary.

But they still needed a plausible excuse to evacuate the town, and they couldn't do anything till graduation.

The waiting was going to kill them.

But Xander insisted that they leave the Mayor alone and not provoke him or do something to attract his interest.

* * *

"I don't get it, what happened?" Xander asked.

There was no one around to answer. Xander stood in the desolate remains of Las Vegas City, dust and debris spread everywhere, cars were packed in the streets and bodies littered everywhere.

There wasn't a bird in the sky, a bug on the ground nor a fish in the sea.

Yet there were Death Gliders and fighter jets in pieces all over the place, a few Alkesh and helicopters. In the distance he could make out a Ha'tak.

"Gaia!"

"A cautionary tale for the people of the other realities." Gaia said sadly as she appeared next to him.

"What happened?" Xander asked worriedly. He had come to this reality through the mirror to introduce himself, but there was no one alive. He had made his way to Las Vegas to find only more destruction.

"The Goa'uld invaded and the people of Earth took the route of Mutually Assured Destruction."

"What about the rest of the universe?" Xander asked.

"They are out there, the good guys and the bad guys." She said as she stared at the gray skies. "Without the Taur'i to shake things up, the bad guys have a better shot at winning."

"Is there anyway for me to reach them? I can't find the Stargate."

"And you won't. They blew it up to increase the damage. You can't reach them, not until you attain godhood, and then you can't actively help them."

"What if I teleported a ship here?"

"Hmm, that might work. But whatever you do, don't bring anyone else to this planet. It is bathed in radiation."

"Will I need to go through DeCon when I get back?" Xander asked. It seemed fairly obvious that he wouldn't suffer any ill effects from the radiation due his Champion status.

"No, you can't carry things like that, or diseases."

"Maybe I'll try the ship then." Xander decided.

This was clearly one reality that would need a lot of work.


	29. Chapter 29

A few weeks later and a friend of Teal'c's, arrived with a wounded Jaffa.

Whilst the wounded Jaffa recovered thanks to various Tok'ra and Asgard technology, Bra'tac told of the horrors of Apophis slaughtering his own people.

"He was searching for something." Teal'c noted.

"Indeed, but what?" Bra'tac agreed.

"Nicky!" Daniel said in horror.

"XANDER!" Jack called out.

Seconds later Xander was standing in the room shocking Bra'tac.

"What's the emergency?" Xander's protocol now was to arrive cloaked in armour, then to de-cloak if necessary or lose the armour all together.

"Apophis is slaughtering his own people to find Nicky." Daniel said fearfully.

"Ok… why would he slaughter them?" Xander asked.

"He searches wildly, he only knows Ammonet had the child and that it was last on Abydos, perhaps he has learnt that the child survived." Teal'c noted.

"Which means a leak." Xander said. "I'll be right back." And he vanished out.

"Who is that child?" Bra'tac asked.

"Have you heard of Lord Xander?" Jack asked.

"Of course, the Goa'uld fear… that is Lord Xander? He is but a child! The tales speak of a man 10 feet tall and clad in armour." Bra'tac protested.

"You should know better than to trust rumours. They got the armour part right, but he's only 7 feet tall." Jack said.

Xander returned having explained the situation to Sayel.

"Why would Apophis search so hard for the child of a Taur'i?" Bra'tac asked.

"Nicky isn't my flesh and blood son. He was born to Ammonet and Apophis. He is a Harsesis." Daniel explained.

Bra'tac inhaled sharply. "Are you so foolish that you would allow such a creature to live? Apophis will throw everything he has at this world to acquire that creature."

"Nobody touches my godson." Xander said quietly. "And if I hear one more bad word about him, or hear him referred to as 'creature', you might not live to tell the tale."

"But…"

"Bra'tac, the child is fine and well. It is loved by us all and in turn loves us. It is not an evil creature like the Goa'uld. It is merely a child." Teal'c assured him. "Lord Xander is devoted to Nicholas Jackson. He would have to but ask and his Jaffa would stand between any who would harm him."

"It is one thing that is sooo not up for discussion Bra'tac." Jack said.

Bra'tac looked to Hammond, who just nodded his agreement.

"Erm, Xander, didn't that Goa'uld on the Tollan home world work for Apophis?" Jack asked.

"SHIT!" Xander shouted startling the gate room and control room personnel.

"Ok, do any of the other Goa'uld know about this?" Xander asked.

"Not that I know of." Bra'tac said.

"Does he accompany the search parties himself?"

"Yes, he is very intent on finding the child."

"Ok, so we need to make him think the child is elsewhere and then I can confront him and hopefully take control of his forces."

"You truly believe it will be so simple child?" Bra'tac asked in horror at the cavalier attitude.

SG1 just chuckled as Xander smirked.

"Master Bra'tac, all Xander needs to do is issue a command and the Goa'uld flies from the mouth of its host. So far he has defeated many Goa'uld that way including Heru'ur, Hathor, Ammonet, and Sokar to name but a few." General Hammond said smiling.

"But you are just a boy!" Bra'tac protested.

"And that is your assumption to make. But it could very well lead to your own downfall." Xander warned.

"This is true. But I will hold my judgment for now." Bra'tac allowed.

"What ever you do, don't insult Xander in front of Sayel or his Jaffa, they are very loyal to him, they do not take insults to him lightly." Daniel warned.

"Very well. It would be wrong to do so regardless." Bra'tac said.

"Ok, so we need to figure out how to convince Apophis that Nicky is somewhere. How do we do that and where do we lead him." Jack asked.

"Why not start looking for Sha're and Nicky ourselves, guide our search to somewhere plausible and make it slightly obvious we are trying to beat Apophis to them." Sam said.

"Of course Xander has to be hidden or he might scare Apophis off." Jack added.

"Ok, so now we have a how. We need a where." Xander said.

"There is a place where Osiris once hid from Seth. A place called Kheb." Daniel said.

"Kheb? That place is forbidden by the Goa'uld." Bra'tac said. "My father once told me stories of it. He said it was a place where Jaffa would go when they could no longer carry a primta. There their calak would learn the path through darkness."

Jack went to ask for an interpretation…

"Calak means soul." But Daniel got there first.

"Well, if that's true then we should go there regardless. I'll need to make sure that it's a safe place." Xander said. "If Daniel considered it then Apophis can too."

"Agreed." Bra'tac said. "I am past my prime, perhaps this is my new journey."

Jack got fed up with the defeatist attitude Bra'tac was displaying. "You know Xander's on personal terms with the God of the Underworld. When his Jaffa fall in battle he goes to check they're settled in before he goes to pay respects to the families. I'm fairly certain that when the time comes you'll be going there too."

"You consort with Goa'uld?" Bra'tac asked in shock.

"He said _God_ of the Underworld, not 'slimy worm claiming to be a god'." Xander said pointedly.

"Bra'tac, you trust us?" General Hammond asked.

"Of course. You have proven yourselves worthy many times." He said surely.

"Then trust us when we say that whatever Xander may tell you, is the truth. Not because it is he who says it. But because em_we/em_ have experienced it. We have met not only the God of the Underworld and the God of the Universe, but also the Almighty Creator of everything." Hammond said looking him straight in the eye.

Bra'tac looked around searching the eyes of his student's comrades. But he saw only truth.

"Forgive my disbelief. I will try to believe and trust you. But it is much to ask of an old man who has fought false gods all his life." Bra'tac said sadly.

"No, it is much to ask of any man. It is far more to ask of one such as you." Xander said. "But don't worry, neither I nor my goddess or the Almighty will ask much of you other than an open mind. It is far more than some have given us."

"So be it." Bra'tac said enthusiastically. "And when I fail the hashak can remind me."

Jack just rolled his eyes whilst Sam snickered.

"Right, so why don't you guys do your thing and find out where Kheb is." Xander suggested.

* * *

Whilst Sam and Daniel took Delta to investigate the gate addresses supplied by the Asgard and Tok'ra with the Goa'uld records, Bra'tac challenged Xander to a test to see how good he really was.

Jack and Teal'c followed along, word spread quickly and there was a large gathering of Jaffa and humans in the Gym to witness the battle.

"You guys do realize we're just gonna spar, right?" Xander asked.

There was a general consensus of 'yeah… and?'

"Why are there so many Jaffa here?" Bra'tac asked.

"My Jaffa bolster the ranks of the soldiers here. They also provide an exchange of fighting methods. Jaffa can also detect Goa'uld and Reetou, so extra points there too."

"Of course, from the Goa'uld you defeated." Bra'tac said in realization.

They began with staffs, starting slow. Testing each other's defenses. But Bra'tac upped the pace. Swinging harder to break through. Xander was working hard to deflect and defend.

He knew Bra'tac had him outclassed. But that was fine. He would fight hard and learn what he could. He had learnt when training with Buffy before his upgrades that you had to check your ego at the door.

Eventually Bra'tac broke through and brought Xander to the mat.

"You are well trained young warrior. But you could do better." Bra'tac said as he helped Xander to his feet. "Surely you did not defeat armies in hand to hand?"

"I have actually, but to be honest, they could not measure up to your skill." Xander admitted. "But I would never expect to win a battle in hand to hand."

"How then?" Bra'tac asked. "The only weapons we have to hand are the staffs, how would you defeat me?"

"Perhaps we could go again. I will show you." Xander said.

"Very well." Bra'tac agreed.

The two squared off again. This time Xander didn't bother engaging Bra'tac. He threw away his staff and ran for the nearest Jaffa stealing his zat gun.

"And the battle is won." Xander said to a confused Bra'tac. "My friends and I have one major rule in battle. Don't die. Run, hide, surrender. But don't die. Death is the end and you can't come back to try again. But when you run you can return, when you hide you can recover, surrender, you can escape.

"There will never come a time when the staff weapon is your only weapon. You will have the environment at your disposal. You will have your captors at your disposal. You will have your opponent at your disposal."

"True words. Many a time have I tried to pound them into my students." Bra'tac said.

"Indeed he has." Teal'c muttered as he shifted uncomfortably.

Gaia chose that moment to appear.

"Hey Xander." She greeted.

"Hi hun." He said as he kissed her.

Which was greeted by a lot of hooting by the assembled men and women.

"Oh shut it you lot." Xander said with grin. "Shows over… both of them. Go find something else to stare at… I know, I know, hard to tear your eyes off the goddess."

Gaia slapped his shoulder playfully.

The men and women filed out grinning. Human and Jaffa alike they enjoyed ribbing the young Champion. The Jaffa loved him more for accepting it.

Jack and Teal'c walked over to join them.

"What are you doing here?" Xander asked as he put his arm around her and pulled her to his side. "Knowing my luck, not that you just wanted to see me."

"Nope, that's a bonus." She admitted. "Heard you were off to Kheb?"

"Yeeess." Xander admitted suspiciously.

"Can't say much, but you might want Oz along." She said with a sheepish grin.

"Oh man! More philosophical mumbo jumbo?" Xander moaned Jack joining in. "At least God doesn't bother with that. She just does what you said. Pats you on the head sends you off."

"Well, the pair of you will enjoy the planet if nothing else. You'll get to stretch your legs… or wings if you choose." She grinned. "Now, remember your manners." She chided as she indicated a confused Bra'tac.

"Oh. Right! Sorry. Bra'tac, this is Gaia. Goddess of the Universe. Gaia, this is Bra'tac. Teal'c's mentor."

"Good to meet you Master Bra'tac." Gaia said with a slight nod.

"Gaia." Bra'tac said returning the nod.

"He's trying to keep an open mind." Xander said.

"Why don't you just show him the universe?" She asked.

"Didn't want to show off." Xander shrugged.

"But you were more than happy to drag the President of China to Netu?" Jack pointed out.

"That guy was a threat, it was that or I'd have to kill him and conquer China in secret. Not a good idea." Xander protested.

"Fine, might as well take Bra'tac on a tour." Jack said.

* * *

An hour later they returned having taken Bra'tac on a whistle stop tour of his collective empire.

The key evidence that had convinced Bra'tac and scared the crap out of Jack, was when he decided to drop in on Cronus and say hi.

The fear in the worm's eyes was clear, Xander had to explain that he couldn't arbitrarily attack the System Lords and their holdings due to a treaty that protected Earth and other planets, which had lead to the Goa'uld they saw on the Tollan home world reporting that Ammonet and her child still lived.

"You are sure you are not a god yourself?" Bra'tac asked as they landed in the teleportation room.

"Nope… not yet at least." Xander said.

"He is considered one of the god's by us and the heavenly host." Gaia said. "Eventually, when his work is complete and the time is right. He will ascend to godhood."

"Yeah. Won't that be a fun day." Xander said sadly. Noticing the looks he was getting he begged off to fetch Oz.

"Is being a god so bad?" Bra'tac asked Gaia.

"I chose him as my Champion because as a god I am forbidden to directly interfere. He is my Hand. Xander knows this and knows that he will be bound by the same restrictions when he ascends."

"He does not wish to sit by as others do his work. He does not like to send people into battle." Bra'tac deduced.

"He does it, he just doesn't like it." Jack said. He explained how Xander had lost over four hundred and fifty men.

"And yet he has many lifetimes ahead of him." Bra'tac said. "I trust you are preparing him?" He said pinning Jack with a glare.

"As best as you can prepare someone for that type of life." Jack said with a sad smile.

Xander and Oz returned shortly after and Jack made the introductions.

* * *

Sam and Daniel eventually found the location of Kheb. Xander ordered several ships to the location whilst he would scout the area first before the others came through.

"You will… teleport?" Bra'tac asked.

"Nah, I'll have to go through the gate. I can only go to places I have been before or to people I know." Xander said. "But no one will see me." He said as he donned his armour and cloaked.

There was a ripple in the event horizon. The only sign of Xander's exit.

"That was not part of the demonstration." Bra'tac said in awe.

Twenty minutes later and Xander reported that there was no sign of Jaffa in the immediate area.

SG1 plus Oz and Bra'tac proceeded through the gate and towards the temple Xander had spotted.

Bra'tac was again surprised when Oz transformed into his wolf form and Xander took flight as an eagle hovering high above them.

"Teal'c my friend. I am an old man. Tell me there are no more surprises." He begged.

"I cannot old friend. Xander still continues to surprise us all." He smiled.

The hike up the mountain path was a calm one. With Xander in the skies he kept sight on the gate.

They had left no guards as they wanted Apophis here.

They arrived at the temple to find a lone monk. He started spouting riddles. Jack and Xander just looked at each other and walked out.

"That was quick." Carter noted as the two emerged leaving Oz, Daniel and Bra'tac in side.

"Guy started speaking Zen riddles… definitely not our thing." Xander said.

"What's the plan sir?"

"I guess we wait for Xander's ships to arrive. Then we'll have to wait till Apophis gets the word that Nicky might be here."

"Where do you wish to set up camp O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

"Why not stay on the ships?" Xander asked.

* * *

The monk kept going on about Desala, or Oma Desala.

Daniel was doing his best to figure it out.

Daniel had determined that the monk was talking about Mother Nature.

Oz just sat in a corner observing.

He was impressed when the monk lit the candle.

Daniel eventually went to study the walls and the writings contained there. The monk focused on Oz.

"You do not seek enlightenment?" He asked with a small smile.

Oz just shrugged. "Why seek what I already have?"

"You believe you have achieved enlightenment?" The monk chuckled. "You would know if you had achieved enlightenment." He said seriously.

"Yes. I would. But would _you_ know if I achieved enlightenment?" Oz asked pointedly.

That one brought the monk up short.

"You should not confuse knowledge with enlightenment." The monk warned.

"Why do you not believe I have enlightenment?" Oz asked.

"Because your spirit is not free and you grasp tightly to your mortal form." The monk said.

"So you assume that because of my physical state, I have not achieved enlightenment?"

"That is a true test of enlightenment."

"You said, that when the mind is enlightened and the spirit is free that the body matters not, correct?" Oz queried.

The monk nodded.

"If the body matters not and the spirit is free… why should it matter if the spirit uses and maintains the body?"

"Remember, a snowflake cannot exist in a firestorm." The monk said wisely… yet slightly unsure.

"You speak of absolutes. 'Nothing is impossible, merely improbable'." Oz quoted. "Can't remember who said it, but it's true. A snow flake that is cold enough can exist in a firestorm that is cool enough for a period of time. But it can exist."

"You argue semantics." The monk said dismissively.

"You speak in riddles." Oz countered.

Again the monk was brought up short. Nobody usually argued or debated him, they just accepted his teachings or left.

"Also, Oma Desala… not Mother Nature. Or nature. I personally know Mother Nature. So does he." Oz said nodding his head sideways to Daniel who had abandoned the wall to listen to the two men.

"What about the flame? How did I do that?" Daniel asked curiously.

"The monk told you himself. 'Do not believe that you can light the candle, believe she can light the candle.'" Oz quoted.

"So it wasn't me?" Daniel realized.

The monk smiled slightly.

"It was not you. But it could be you if you reach enlightenment."

"So Oma is here?" Daniel asked.

"Oma is everywhere." The monk said sagely.

Daniel looked at Oz questioningly.

Oz chuckled. "Slight exaggeration. Oma is aware of much. But not everywhere. I believe that the monk here is a physical incarnation of Oma."

The boy was insightful.

"So the writings on the wall, they don't speak of a literal ascension and being able to discard the body?" Daniel asked.

"No, they do. Oma here has already achieved that. The question is, why would you want to?" Oz asked. "You already know what awaits you after death. One of the things that Xander and the rest of us were originally told was that Xander could teach us to basically ascend and not die.

"Cordelia was very excited about that one." Oz smirked.

"I'll bet." Daniel chuckled.

"The real question here is, if Oma is so powerful, and has attained enlightenment, why does she squander it sitting here in a forgotten temple. There are people out there who are in need of help." Oz said looking sternly at the monk.

"Even the wind must follow the path." The monk said.

"Your saying…"

"Someone above him, possibly his peers, have set rules forbidding interference." Oz translated.

"Sounds like Gaia's predicament." Daniel said.

"I doubt it. The Almighty laid down the rules for the gods. I doubt she made any such rules for Oma." Oz said shaking his head.

"But it is true… enlightenment? An ascension, of sorts." Daniel asked hopefully.

"Yes, the writings on the wall are what you think. And the end result is as you believe." Oz assured. "But remember what I said about absolutes. There is always another way."

Oz stood up and stretched.

"Have fun Daniel, if nothing else you may learn more about their culture."

Oz strolled out leaving a bewildered monk staring at him.

"He is an interesting child." The monk said.

"You have no idea." Daniel chuckled.

* * *

"So, do we need to bring a mop for Daniel's brains?" Jack asked as Oz approached.

"I doubt it." Oz shrugged. "The monk is some form of ascended being… and no, I am not talking uber demon like the mayor." He quickly assured Xander.

"Powerful?" Jack asked.

"Possibly, but they have non-interference policies." Oz said.

"Nox and Tollan?" Sam asked.

"Hard to say. He didn't exactly speak outside of riddles. He made a good job of confusing Daniel though."

"Should we leave Daniel Jackson in there if that is the case?" Teal'c asked with concern.

"He'll be fine. The monk won't hurt him. Daniel might learn something. He seemed quite happy. I just had to point out some things to the monk and Daniel before they both got hold of the wrong end of the stick."

"Never know when the stick might turn out to be a staff weapon." Xander mused.

"Exactly."

"So is this not the place of peace and rest for Jaffa?" Bra'tac asked.

"Probably is. But like I said to Daniel, there is always another way."

"I would be interested in hearing these ways." Bra'tac said.

"Hang around with us enough and you'll learn plenty of new things." Xander grinned.

"What's the game plan for Apophis?" Oz asked.

"We wait for him to show up. Xander kicks his butt." Jack said simply.

"And the Jaffa he'll send through first?" Oz asked. He knew that Xander wanted to preserve the area as much as he did. They both had a love and affinity for nature these days.

"Xander has one of his whacky plans set up." Jack sighed.

"Hey! My whacky plans tend to save your butt." Xander protested. "Got a special ship being towed in. No engines, no weapons, no internal controls at all. Just life support. It's set up with holding cells. The Jaffa come pouring through and the other two ships just start beaming the Jaffa on board till we can deal with them later."

"Any idea how long till they arrive?" Oz asked.

"Nope, but we intend to stay on ship instead of camping out here." Jack said.

"Not Xander." Oz shook his head. "He can use the time to take more lessons with Lya." He said glaring at his friend.

Xander rolled his eyes but agreed. "Fine, holler when it's time." He complained as he vanished.

"So, we head up to the ships?" Oz asked.

"Shouldn't we get Daniel?" Sam asked.

"Nah, I'll just tell him we're off, he should be fine down here, he rarely gets a chance to just sit and talk with the people these days." Oz said.

Jack really wanted to disagree… but Oz was right.

* * *

Daniel got two full days worth of learning with the monk.

He didn't manage to light candles by himself, but as Oz had already exposed the monk as Oma Desala, the monk was a little more open about answering historical questions.

But word came through from Tok'ra operatives that Apophis was coming. It was nighttime outside. But the skies were clear.

Daniel decided to stay put, he had little worry about his team failing. Especially with Oz and Xander onsite.

"Beings of great evil are coming." The monk frowned.

"Yes, my friends are trying to free the Jaffa and destroy the Goa'uld." Daniel confirmed.

"They seek conflict?" He asked.

"They don't seek conflict for conflicts sake." Daniel corrected. "They seek conflict because sometimes it is the best way to deal with things."

"Conflict is never the answer." The monk said seriously.

"I think Oz would remind you that you should never speak of absolutes." Daniel said with a raised eyebrow.

"And this Oz is always right?" He asked pointedly.

"More to the point, are you?" Daniel countered.

"I have yet to be wrong." The monk said sagely.

"As has Oz. To my knowledge, there is one absolute in existence." Daniel said. "And that is the Almighty Creator."

"And you have proof of this 'Almighty Creator'?" The monk asked with slight bemusement and young humans assertions.

"Personally? No." Daniel admitted.

The monk just nodded as if he had won his point.

"But why would I have proof?" Daniel asked. "I have met and witnessed the Creator. Lord Xander is blessed in that he is loved by the Creator so much that she frequently invites him to her presence." Daniel said in wondrous awe. He often found himself just staring at Xander, trying to fathom the fact that the young man so frequently stood in the presence of the Almighty.

Daniel shook himself from his thoughts.

"But this Creator does not appear to everyone." The monk pointed out.

"And Oma does?"

The monk conceded the point.

The monk looked up suddenly.

"The Jaffa are gone from the planet." He said in shock. "They did not leave through the Stargate."

"Stargate?" Daniel asked. "Not many cultures use that literal translation." Daniel said with a frown.

"Where have they… ships in orbit?" The monk realized. "I cannot allow them to be tortured. Kheb is a sanctuary."

"The Jaffa are perfectly safe. Lord Xander put them on the ship to keep them out of the line of fire." Daniel assured him.

"And what of the Goa'uld?"

"The demon will die. There is nothing that will stop that. The host will live or die depending on the judgment of the Almighty." Daniel said. It had been an interesting conversation, when Xander had explained the fate of Sokar and Bynarr's hosts.

"I will not allow others to kill on this planet. I have defended it before, I will do so again. Those who seek to sow death, shall receive death." The monk said angrily.

"I should warn you, that Xander has no desire to kill. His only interest is in the demon snake. But the chances of you stopping him are practically nil." Daniel warned.

"No human, Jaffa or Goa'uld has survived a challenge on my planet." The monk said as it suddenly changed into a glowing creature of light.

The light had many smooth tentacles of solid light, much like Xander's plasma sword. There was a human head amidst the tentacles. But it was of a dark haired woman. Not a monk.

The glowing creature suddenly shot off leaving Daniel alone.

"Xander, if you can hear me, you have trouble coming. The monk changed into some sort of glowing white creature. Got angry that you were going to kill the demon and that the host might die." Daniel said over the comm.

"Roger that." Xander replied.


	30. Chapter 30

Apparently Apophis was smarter than the average Goa'uld. He had cloned his original host so that he would not have to convince anyone of who he was. He must have retrieved this one just before Klorel had been captured by the Tollan.

Right now though, Apophis was white with fear as he beheld the Goa'uld Killer.

He wasn't sure what was worse. The faceless being of the armour clad warrior, or the white light currently barreling down on their position from the skies.

"Do not move demon." Xander ordered as he turned to face the glowing creature.

"Do not interfere, this is not your business." Xander told the being that had stopped to hover several feet away.

"This is my planet. I will not allow you to kill on it." The being said in a female voice.

"Then I will take the demon and complete my business elsewhere." Xander said.

"I cannot allow you to do that knowing you will kill him."

"So you would have him leave? Free to do as he pleases?" Xander asked. "He will destroy many people when he leaves. Simply because he wants to."

The being considered this.

"You do realize that Goa'uld are demons? They are pure evil and do not even belong in this dimension." Xander asked.

"What proof do you have of this?" The being asked.

"Ask him yourself." Xander said turning to Apophis. "Demon, answer the questions you are asked truthfully and completely."

Xander looked to the being and gestured her to begin.

"What is your name?"

"I have taken the name Apophis, of the human gods of Egypt." The Goa'uld said stiffly, trying to fight the commands.

"How old are you?"

"Many thousands of years." Apophis said.

"Where does your kind hail from?"

"We are the lowest of the spawn of Hell. Brought here by the higher demons when they invaded this realm."

The being could sense the truth being spoken. But it did not know what to do about it. Death would be the outcome regardless of the result.

"Demon, does your host have a consciousness?" Xander asked.

"No, it is an empty clone, created to serve my purpose." Apophis confessed.

Xander turned to the glowing being.

"Neither of us truly wishes to kill. I suggest we request that the demon be sent back to Hell from where it confesses to have come. It need not die. But the host, is not alive." Xander said.

The glowing being considered this.

"Hell is not a euphemism for death?" It asked.

"No, Hell is another dimension where all of it's kind originate." Xander said.

"Very well. But I will hold you accountable if it dies by your hand." The being warned.

"Wait here I must consult the Creator and ask for her help." Xander said as he vanished out.

There was a flash of light as Daniel was beamed in.

"Where did Xander go?" Daniel asked.

"In order to prevent conflict, he suggested sending the Goa'uld to a place called Hell. Where it claims to originate from." The being said.

As the being spoke it transformed into a more humanoid form. Still with an ethereal glow, but now a far more defined human body.

"I am Oma Desala. You may call me Oma." The being said. "Does the one called Xander speak the truth?"

"Although he may withhold the truth, I doubt he would lie. The Almighty does not appreciate lying." Daniel said.

"But accepts lies of omission?" Oma asked in confusion.

"No, merely understands the difference between not wanting to release the information which may affect the tide of battle, and claiming that a path leads to the other side but not stating that that path holds hidden dangers." Daniel said.

* * *

Xander was very worried. This was a big request. It usually came with a big price.

"Yes it does." God said as she appeared, answering his thoughts. "But it is a good suggestion which will satisfy everyone… except maybe the demon."

"What must I do to accomplish this?" Xander asked as he knelt before her. Michael and the Metatron had accompanied her.

"You must do what only Michael has done among your brethren." She said. "You must take the Goa'uld to Hell yourself and present it to Lucifer."

It was very bad. He knew full well that even the sight of Hell would drive a man insane. And now his duty was to travel willingly into its gaping maw.

"What – how do I do this?" He asked.

"You must open the Hellmouth. Gaia and Hades can help you with this. But you will need to traverse Hell on foot, there and back."

"Will I return in time for the graduation?" Xander was the key for defeating the Mayor. He had backups in place, but he did not want to use them.

"No time will pass in your home whilst you are in Hell. The path will be obvious, it will be the most disturbing one." She told him. "Go, I will be waiting for you when you return."

* * *

Xander found himself back on the planet. The sun was beginning to rise.

Xander felt very weak. He saw Apophis standing there, he didn't want to deal with him now.

"Demon, sleep." He commanded.

Apophis fell to the ground asleep.

"Xander, what happened?" Daniel asked.

"She said it could be done." Xander said as he banished his armour. His face was pale. "But I have to carry the demon to Lucifer myself."

"Oh god." Daniel said in horror. "You have to walk through Hell, don't you?"

Xander just sat on the ground and nodded.

"GAIA!" Daniel shouted.

"I heard." She said as she appeared. "You realize you could have just killed him. Oma Desala has no control over you."

"Seemed like the thing to do, honour and peace stuff." He said with a humourless laugh.

"You!" She said turning on the glowing woman. "I hope you realize the sacrifice he is making just to appease you." She said angrily.

"He is preventing a death." The being said not understanding.

"He is going to walk through the actual Hell. He will see things that will haunt his nightmares, he will suffer physically for this. All because you believe you know better. All because he tried to accommodate you." She was practically screaming. "You will witness his entrance to Hell. And you will be there for his return." She declared.

"My place is here. I do not take commands." Oma said calmly.

The next thing Oma knew she was standing in a building filled with books. There were many people assembled in the room. Including the humans she met on Kheb, the two Jaffa and Apophis. Although he was still asleep.

Oma was a rebel, especially among her people. She was not going to have her actions dictated.

Only she seemed to be stuck here in her mortal form.

"What have you done to me?" She asked in horror.

"I am showing just how powerful Xander is, and how powerful those he serves are. You think you can demand things because you have achieved access to another plain of existence? You are nothing.

"I told you that you would witness Xander's sacrifice." Gaia said seethingly.

"Erm, Gaia, what's going on?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, kinda wondering that myself." Jack said.

"Daniel." She said as she went over to Xander.

"In order to appease Oma here. Xander has agreed not to kill Apophis-"

"WHAT!" Jack shouted.

"Instead," Daniel continued, "Xander suggested to send him back to Hell where he came from. The catch is, that Xander has to travel through Hell himself and deliver Apophis to Lucifer."

Several people assembled had to rush out as they threw up. Most of the women were crying.

Oz was livid.

"You stupid BITCH!" He roared. "_You_ should be doing this!"

"Easy Oz." Hades soothed the enraged werewolf.

"Can I go with him?" Oz asked desperately. "Maybe it would be easier if two made the journey."

"NO!" Xander shouted as he burst from his seat. "No one else will suffer for this."

Xander turned to Oma.

"But know this. Because of your actions, such future mercy will be sparse. Only the Almighty and the gods may change my mind. Not even Oz will be able to."

Xander turned and walked to Gaia. He kissed her deeply. Tears running down their faces, and most of the humans assembled.

Hades and Michael both wept as well.

"Send me now, don't make me suffer in waiting." He whispered to Gaia hoarsely.

Gaia nodded and motioned to Hades.

Together they stood over the mouth of Hell as it opened.

The humans were unable to approach held back by an invisible force thanks to Gaia and Hades. No mere human could withstand the sight of Hell, so God had prevented their approach.

Xander turned to Apophis. "Demon, come to me." He commanded.

The snake leapt from the mouth of its host, which fell to the floor dead. Xander held the squirming snake and looked to Gaia. He dived into the mouth of Hell.

Michael grabbed Oma and dragged her towards the portal.

"I told you that you would witness his sacrifice." Gaia said firmly. Her eyes never leaving the contents of the portal.

Oma screamed in horror. Disfigured creatures doing unspeakable acts to each other. There was a river of fire. It glowed red, not orange. But it was pure fire not lava.

Despite the fire, there was a prevailing darkness. It shrouded everything with a coldness. The darkness was terror, fear.

Oma felt it reaching for her, trying to suck her in.

She screamed louder.

Suddenly a hand emerged from the pit.

Disfigured, bloody. Missing all but the last two fingers.

The hand reached further, revealing the arm attached.

Skin was missing, bones showed.

"Turn away!" Hades ordered the assembled humans.

Those unable to do so themselves were moved by the others. When a god told you not to look, you shut your eyes and thought happy thoughts.

But Oma was forced to look.

She saw the two fingered hand grasp at the side of the pit and attempt to crawl out.

Gaia quickly reached down and gently pulled the arm out, drawing the abused body with it.

Oma found she was unable to look away.

She saw why only one arm emerged from the pit.

The other was gone.

As was one leg and half the other.

The body was naked.

But there was hardly anything left.

Blind, mute and missing most of his body. Xander Harris, Champion of the Universe clawed his way out of the mouth of Hell as Gaia aided him.

Suddenly he tumbled free falling to the floor. The smell of rotting flesh filled the air and Oma gagged. But she wasn't able to vomit. Though she wished she could.

Suddenly a young woman appeared.

Kneeling beside the rotting creature she placed a hand on his cheek and the creature was gone.

Replaced by the Champion of the Universe, once again whole.

The young woman looked with disgust at the pit and it closed with a wave of her hand.

She lifted Xander into her arms and vanished along with Gaia.

Michael shoved Oma to the floor where the mouth of hell had once opened and was now a simple floor.

"You may turn around." Hades said, his voice hoarse.

The assembled friends and family of Xander Harris turned around.

"Wh-when will he be back?" Willow sobbed.

"He has already returned." Michael said. "Time passes differently between here and Hell. It is part of what makes the torment so potent. His task so difficult." He told them sadly. "Xander travelled the roads of hell for over a thousand years. He came back severely injured physically and mentally.

"She has healed his body. Now she has taken him to Heaven to heal his mind and soul."

"Is this what it was like for you?" Giles asked.

"Yes, I returned and God healed my wounds and restored me. But I will always carry the memories."

"Will Xander ever be the same?" Buffy asked. They had all read up on the recorded histories of the beings they met. They knew Michael had fought Lucifer and traversed Hell.

"Gaia knew what she was doing when she chose Xander as her Champion. She did not know this would happen. But she knew he would face what came his way." Hades assured them. "Xander will bounce back. But by the time he returns he will have lived over two thousand years. A thousand in hell, a thousand in heaven."

"He really stayed there for a thousand years?" A small terrified voice asked.

Michael looked down with barely concealed disgust at the ascended being. "Yes child. He did. All because you refused to believe that his was the right way."

"What… what should we… how." Joyce couldn't find the words.

But Michael knew what she was asking.

"Show him the love you have for him. Remember he has been gone a long time. He has not forgotten you, but he will need time to readjust to just being Xander." Michael turned to Hades. "I must speak with the Lord, stay with them?"

Hades nodded and Michael vanished.

Hades suddenly smiled as if realizing something. "Everybody take a seat. We have a wedding to plan." He turned to Oma. "You can go now." He said sending her back to Kheb.

"Wedding?" Jack asked.

"Xander is in Heaven, has been for a thousand years. With Gaia. He is apparently dying to marry my sister." He grinned.

"Why isn't he back yet?" Buffy asked.

"We have more control over time between Heaven and Earth. We are making things stretch a little to give you more time to adjust." Hades tilted his head and rolled his eyes. "It appears he is back to his old self. He is currently in my realm checking up on Jesse and his Jaffa. He's just waiting for permission to come back."

"I think I speak for everyone when I say, we're ready." Jack said.

There was a chorus of agreement.

"Miss me?" A cheery voice said.

There was a sudden rush by anything with two X chromosomes as Xander was engulfed by his female friends.

Jack and Church took one look at each other and joined the human mass.

"You do realize I've been gone for a thousand years as well?" Gaia said cheekily.

Church and Jack were instantly on Gaia.

"What's up Oz, no hugs?" Gaia grinned.

"I may be hard to kill, but my girlfriend can still cause pain." He said.

"Give the woman a hug Oz!" Buffy said indignantly.

So Oz complied.

Eventually they all sat down around the library on couches that Gaia and Hades provided. No one seemed to know what to say. How exactly do you start a conversation with someone who just spent a thousand years in Heaven recovering from a thousand years in Hell.

"So how old are you now?" Church asked.

"18." He grinned. "Ok, I'm two thousand one hundred and twenty-six. Please don't put candles on my birthday cake."

"Alright, I gotta know one thing… I know it's probably hard to think about, but… what did Lucifer say when you handed Apophis over?" Jack asked.

"'Stupid human.'"

"Yeah, I know, but its-"

"No Jack, that's what he said. 'Stupid human'." Xander grinned.

"Not big on the evil bad guy ranting?" Faith asked.

"Nope, just took the snake and slouched off." Xander said. "I don't think I was really worth his time."

"You wish." Gaia snorted. "He was just desperate to get rid of you."

Michael suddenly reappeared.

"It is approved." He told Xander.

"How long did it take?"

"Two hundred years. But that was only because they wanted to do more and I had to tell them they couldn't." Michael said rolling his eyes.

"Erm, approve what?" Daniel asked.

"Xander has been welcomed into the ranks of the Heavenly Host. He is now a true angel… but he gets to keep all of his bits and pieces." Michael added with a roll of his eyes as Gaia looked smug.

"Erm… angel as in…?" Jack asked.

"Might as well show them." Gaia said.

Xander stood up and stepped into the center of the circle of couches.

He was suddenly surrounded by a blinding light. Huge wings stretched out behind him. What was strange was that his armour was his Spartan armour.

"Wow." Faith muttered.

Several others added their agreement to the sentiment.

Xander banished the armour so he was stood there in his normal clothes but still with the bright glow and wings.

"You might as well come and have a feel, you know you all want to." Xander said as he stretched his wings over the couches.

Five minutes later and Xander vanished his wings.

"Forgive my somewhat selfish question," George said, "But will this affect what you can and cannot do in the universe?"

"No, he is still my Champion. His armour is not his true armour. It was created by the Smiths of Heaven. Xander's actions were those of an angel. The _entire_ heavenly host petitioned God for him to be made a true angel. They argued that his actions to date were those that an angel performs anyway. His journey into Hell secured his place among them." Gaia explained.

"Angels do what Xander does?" Buffy asked.

"We do, only not as overtly or on such a wide scale." Michael said with a smile. "We tend to deal with individual cases. A person trapped in a fire. Comfort to a prisoner. Xander works on a more wider basis. Responsible for ensuring the safety of the Universe as a whole."

"So this is what they were approving in Heaven?" Daniel asked.

"Nope." Xander said. "I've been an angel for most of my thousand years in Heaven. They were approving my request."

Xander looked at Oz and lifted the young man to his feet.

"Oz, you're my friend, my comrade and my brother." Xander said seriously. "You went far beyond all that when you offered to travel with me through Hell. And I know that you understood what that meant.

"My request was that you take my place in the host of Heaven. Not quite an angel, but recognized as a brother."

Xander produced his sword.

"This sword was given to me by Michael. A gift to those who like Joshua before me were accepted into the host. We would all like you to take it and put it to use."

Oz accepted the sword silently. Buffy who was still sat next to him stood and hugged him.

"Thanks to Hades it comes complete with Spartan armour." Michael grinned. "Oh, but you might want to practice as when you put the armour on, your body will fit the armour… there is no such thing as a short Spartan."

Oz glared at him, then gave a nod and stepped away from the couch. The next second the assembled saw Xander and a corporeal Spartan standing side by side.

"I miss my armour." Church sighed wistfully.

Faith just chuckled and kissed his temple.

"Right. SG1 and I have to finish dealing with Apophis' Jaffa. And you lovely ladies have a wedding to plan." Xander said.

"Oz, you wanna tag along again?" Xander asked.

Oz took one look at the gleam in his girlfriends eye regarding wedding planning and did the smart thing.

"I'll tag along."

"Hell, don't leave without us!" Faith said.

Jack just looked at Faith questioningly.

"You really think I'm the sort of girl who dreams of weddings?"

"Point." Jack allowed. He turned to look at Church.

"Do I _look_ like Donut?" He asked.

"Come on Rupert, we can go and toast Xander and Oz's promotions in private." George said saving the poor man.

"Oh thank goodness." Giles said… this earned him a slap on the backside from his girlfriend.

* * *

Delta had recordings of the initial confrontation between Xander, Oma and Apophis. So they took a leaf from SG1's book when dealing with the training grounds for Apophis' troops.

They pumped the encounter through the communications system. Xander then addressed the Jaffa in his armour.

Apparently the Jaffa of Apophis were not so easy to convince. They believed their god would return, probably because he had managed to do so the last time.

Xander returned the Jaffa on the ship to Chulak. Bra'tac went with them to try and convince them to at least live free and not turn to another false god once they believed Apophis was dead.

Only time would tell of his success.

Other than wings and new armour and a heavenly sword, only two additional things had really changed for Xander's abilities.

He was now practically impossible to kill for any one in his universe, and no one could lie to him.

Which became apparent when the girls tried to drag him to wedding planning sessions under false pretences.

He was sure they were trying to kill him, and he knew when they were hiding things.

Beyond that he still held the same limitations and powers.

One unforeseen consequence was Delta. Xander had unwittingly taken the AI into Hell and Heaven.

He had evolved now to a full AI like Church.

He no longer needed a body to exist.

Unfortunately he was still only a foot tall.

Being the logical one he had turned off all recording devices whilst in Heaven and Hell and systematically wiped his memory everyday on a timer. The last thing they needed was another insane AI like Epsilon.

But he had still experienced both realms, and they had affected him, even though he couldn't remember it.

Xander did have some issues readjusting to life on earth. There was no way he could sit his exams and graduate. He also had some trouble getting used to basic amenities such as computers and telephones.

Willow and Cordelia practically moved into the Summers' home to help him readjust. Nobody seemed inclined to have them move out.


	31. Chapter 31

Graduation was approaching quickly, only a week away. They planned to initiate an evacuation the day before graduation claiming a meteor strike was due. This would enable them to use Air Force planes to keep the media away. To make things authentic Xander had ordered a bomb planted on a suitable asteroid and pushed into the correct path. Just prior to entry they would detonate the bomb allowing the shards to burn up in the atmosphere.

No one could say there wasn't a meteor.

Of course SG1 had to get in trouble at least once before graduation.

Xander was at the day care center playing with Nicky and Jordy, and avoiding the horrors of wedding planning, when Daniel turned up.

Xander was seated between Joyce and Sha're as they watched the children sleep. Naptime was the best time.

"Xander, please tell me you can see me." He begged frantically.

Xander sighed with a bemused smile. "What did you do this time?"

"Who did what?" Joyce asked.

"You can't see Daniel I take it?" He asked gesturing to area where he could see Daniel.

"No… has my husband got himself in trouble again?" Sha're frowned.

"Hey!" Daniel objected indignantly.

"It seems so." Xander chuckled as he rose from the couch. "I'll just go and play interpreter for him with SG1. I'll see ya later."

* * *

"So he's here, but not completely here?" Jack asked.

"Why does he have to make it sound like I'm nuts again?" Daniel moaned.

"Jack – Yes. Daniel – This whole place is nuts. Roll with it." Xander responded.

"So how do we get him back?" Sam asked.

"I dunno, how did he get this way in the first place?" Xander shrugged.

"I looked into the eyes of the crystal skull." Daniel said remembering.

"Looked into the eyes of a crystal skull?" Xander repeated. "What creature has a crystal skull?"

"It's an artifact we found on a planet." Sam said.

"My Grandfather Nicholas!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Daniel, maybe you are nuts. Nicky is your son." Xander said soothingly.

"Yes, whom I named after my grandfather." Daniel retorted.

"Oh yeah." Xander grinned sheepishly. "Ok, so what about Grandfather Nick?"

"He found a crystal skull in Belize. Nobody can explain how it was made, the technology was far beyond the times. He claimed the skull had great power."

"Ok, we need to go get Ol' Grandfather Nick and find out what he knows." Xander said.

"Is he trustworthy?" George asked.

Xander looked to Daniel.

"He's… erm… in a mental institute." He said awkwardly.

Xander raised an eyebrow before turning back to George. "Let's just say that there really won't be a problem if he blabs."

* * *

After a surprising encounter with Nick where Xander realized he could see and hear Daniel. Nicholas Ballard told them the whole story of his journey and the giant aliens.

SG1 along with Xander and Nick returned to the Pyramid where the skull was found.

"Ok, so we just wait?" Jack asked.

"Radiation is rising again." Carter said.

Suddenly there was a burst of light.

"Xander, where are the others?" Teal'c asked.

"You can see me but not them?" Xander asked.

"That is correct."

He put his hand through Jack.

"Hey!" Jack objected.

"Now you know how I felt." Daniel grinned.

Xander walked up to Teal'c but found he could touch him.

"Ok, I'm guessing I'm unaffected because… I'm me." He grinned. "But you probably aren't because you have the symbiote."

"Maybe if Teal'c leaves the aliens will appear." Daniel suggested.

"Yeah, let's try something else. Enemy of my enemy, right?" Xander asked.

"Yes." Daniel agreed.

Xander turned to face the cavern.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We who stand here are enemies of the Goa'uld. We seek a meeting with those who dwell here." Xander said loudly.

A mist began to swirl about them. It gradually took the form of a humanoid form. It was, as Nicholas described, a giant.

"The Champion has come. You are welcome here." It said in English.

"Thank you. My friends are explorers. Students of various cultures. They wish to exchange knowledge and teachings." Xander said.

"We accept your proposition. He may remain." It said pointing to Nick.

"Me?"

"Him?" Daniel said worriedly.

"Cool." Xander said clapping his hands together.

"What!" Daniel objected.

"You really want to deny him the chance to learn what he missed out on last time?" Xander asked.

Xander walked up to Nick. "Daniel will explain how to use the Stargate to get back to the SGC."

He turned back to the giant aliens.

"We ask that he return to us at least once every seven days. His family would like to see him."

"Understandable. Seven days from now we will ensure that he is within your phase. He will be welcomed here at anytime. He need only look into the eyes of the crystal skull."

After saying goodbye the team headed home.

* * *

"You do realize that this counts as an SG1 rescue?" Xander said.

"But it was Daniel!" Jack protested as they sat down in the mess hall.

"Yes, on an SG1 mission. You lost him, and had to have help rescuing him." Xander grinned.

"Fine." Jack groused as he walked up to the board and moved SG1's horse another spot.

He headed back to the table and then stopped. Looked at Xander carefully. He trotted back to the board and moved Xander's horse, which was at zero, up about fourteen times.

"Ok, explain." Xander said as Jack sat down smugly.

"Every day you spend here hiding from the wedding planners is a day we rescue you." He smirked.

Unfortunately, Xander couldn't come up with a decent comeback. Gaia laughed her head off when she found out though.

* * *

It was the day before graduation. The meteor had been put on course and the evacuation orders had been given.

The National Guard was called in to manage the evacuation, but the Air Force was to secure the area afterwards. All routes out of town were lit with ultra violet lights. Nobody felt like letting the vamps out. Once the town was clear, Xander's Jaffa beamed in to maintain patrols and keep an eye out for anyone left behind.

The Scoobies were the only ones in town otherwise. They continued to discuss and refine their plans.

"Are you going to tell us how you intend to defeat the Mayor?" Giles asked.

They had kept asking but Xander just said it was a surprise.

"Nope." He grinned.

"Your…new status doesn't change anything?" Willow asked.

"Nah, I could approach things differently I guess. But I had this planned for a while now." Xander said.

"I would be really interested in hearing those plans myself." A voice said as it entered the library.

The Scoobies turned to see the Mayor strolling in.

"You've really put a crimp on my carefully laid plans." He said jovially.

"Who? Us?" Xander asked innocently.

"Oh, don't play coy Mr. Harris. I know all about your armour and the fact that you are the so called Champion of the Universe." He said as he took a seat at the table. "But now you have removed all my post ascension snacks. I suppose I'll just have to dine on you and your friends."

"We don't tend to go down easy." Buffy said seriously.

"You! You're almost as bad as Harris here." The Mayor said.

"Only almost?" She pouted.

"Damn Buff, we gotta work on our reps!" Faith pouted back.

"So what's the deal, Dick?" Xander asked as he leaned back in his chair. "Come to try and scare us? Or you want me to make it a nice and peaceful end for you?"

"No Mr. Harris. I just wanted to see you before I eat you. The lack of humans to eat will slow me down. But it definitely won't stop me." He said surely.

"Well, here we are." Xander said cheerfully. "We'll see you tomorrow, or at least, I will."

"You think you can take me on all by yourself?" He scoffed.

There was a flash of steel and the Mayor's head was rolling on the ground.

Oz was standing there, sword in hand.

"Was that really necessary?" The Mayor's head asked, slightly annoyed.

"I figured you needed something pointed out to you." Oz said. "You might be immortal, but you have no idea how to use it."

Xander stood up and kicked the head away from the body into Giles' office.

"I'll see you tomorrow Dick!" Xander called out as he ordered a beam out.

"Xander, I have no objection to you kicking the Mayor's head like a football, but did you have to send it to my office?" Giles complained as they landed in the Summer's living room.

"I was kinda curious as to how long it would take his body to find his head." Xander shrugged.

* * *

The Mayor was furious. He was being disrespected by these young hooligans.

They thought that removing the townspeople would stop him? He would get people from other places. He was over a hundred years old and a powerful mage. He called in markers from all over the world. Tomorrow there would be an army to face Mr. Harris and his friends.

* * *

"Would you please stop worrying and just go up to the briefing room and watch the show." Xander said trying to placate his worried friends.

They had recently lost him to hell, and got him back. It may have only been a few minutes for them. But they fully understood the ramifications for Xander.

"Fine. But if you get hurt, we'll force you to attend every one of the wedding planners meetings." Buffy pouted.

Jack rushed into the teleportation room where they were saying goodbye to Xander.

"Hey, kid." Jack said, then stopped. "Guess that doesn't really fit anymore." He considered. "Anyway, sensors indicate a sudden influx of bodies. Some are human. But they are localized."

"Yeah, I'm expecting a lot more when the eclipse happens." Xander said.

"You knew!" Willow screeched.

"Well yeah, the Mayor has to have connections." Xander said.

"Maybe we should help?" Cordelia offered.

"Trust me, this is nothing I can't handle." Xander said giving her a smile and a hug.

"Oz, can't you convince him?" Buffy begged.

"I agree with him." Oz said. This earned him a look of incredulity from his girlfriend. "He's Xander. He knows his limits. He also has a ship in orbit ready to fry the town if necessary, not to mention a meteor on route."

"Thanks Oz." Xander said.

"But if you get hurt, I'll kick your ass myself." Oz told him.

"You really came on your own?" The Mayor asked as he approached Xander.

He was sitting in the school courtyard where the graduation ceremony would have been.

"Yep, but you didn't." Xander said noting the various demons surrounding him.

"I am far smarter than that." The Mayor said. "And I never said I would come alone."

"I didn't expect you to." Xander said.

The Mayor suddenly convulsed. "Oh good, no need to indulge in idle banter. My food has been prepared and my friends here can deal with any friends of yours that decide they have a spine."

"My friends are watching. Looking forward to the show." Xander said.

The Mayor fell to his knees as his body began to morph slowly.

"Oh, and your meals are safe and sound." Xander smiled.

"Then… I'll just have to… eat YOU." He roared as he transformed into a huge sixty foot snake.

* * *

"Oh god! He's gonna die." Willow cried as they watched the Mayor approach Xander in the courtyard with lots of demons.

They only had an ariel view, but it was a very close, read the newspaper kind of view.

The Mayor had dandruff.

"Willow, relax." Gaia said. As she appeared next to her. "Popcorn?" She offered holding out a big bowl.

Oz dug in.

"It's starting." Giles said.

They watched as the Mayor convulsed and exploded onto a sixty foot snake.

"EWWWWWW" Was the collective comment from Willow, Buffy and Cordelia.

"I'm gonna have to agree with the girly brigade." Faith said grimacing.

"Oh god! He's gonna die!" Willow cried again.

"I sincerely doubt that." The Metatron said as more chairs appeared and he and the Almighty sat down along with Hades and Michael. "Don't bother kneeling, you'll interrupt the show." He said absently as they started to rise.

The view suddenly changed showing a more horizontal angle.

"My Lord, can I assume you did that and that the ship didn't just enter atmosphere?" George asked worriedly.

"You can." The Metatron answered as God winked at George.

"So what's his big plan?" Church asked. "Oh… good plan." He muttered as the scene unfolded.

* * *

When the news of the Mayor's ascension to an original demon came to Xander he remembered the history lesson Gaia had given them when they first met.

Dinosaurs and certain mythical creatures were used to drive the demons back.

There was one mythical creature that sprung to Xander's mind.

So here he was facing the giant demon, in the form of a dragon.

The demons backed off quickly.

The Mayor also backed away. But then changed his mind and attacked.

But Xander had no intention of fighting on the ground where the Mayor could get him. He took to the air.

His huge leathery wings lifting him. This was why he needed the town cleared. He wouldn't be able to hide in this form.

Dragons were used against the demons because of the fire they breathed. A chemical flame that stuck to what it touched.

The Mayor was about to be roasted.

* * *

"I take it back." Willow said staring in awe at the screen as the Mayor was gradually burnt to a crisp.

"He seriously had no chance, did he?" Faith asked the assembled deities.

"Not even a sliver." Hades grinned.

"And he had this planned bef- oh come on!" Gaia suddenly burst out in annoyance.

Xander having finished the Mayor to a burnt stain on the courtyard had turned on the minor demons.

He went to take a bunch at once.

He flew low over them and transformed.

"He's been around for over two thousand years, spent half that time in hell trying to survive and the best he can come up with is squashing them with as a giant whale!" Buffy cried in disgust.

"Got to give him credit, it worked." Oz said.

"Why didn't he just flambé them like the Mayor?" Church asked.

"Maybe he was trying to save the school?" Sam suggested.

"No, he was told by the President that he could level the school if he wanted. This is going to be the last year that the school sits over a Hellmouth." George said.

"Well I for one am glad he didn't. All my books are in there!" Giles said.

"Actually they're in storage in one of the Gate Ship cargo bays for you." Daniel said. "Xander had them beam the whole library up en masse."

"At least the whale is gone and he's gone back to one on many fighting." Gaia said somewhat annoyed at her fiancé. Squashing demons in the form of a sperm whale was not the classiest of moves in her book.

"My Lord, with permission?" Michael asked the Almighty.

God just rolled her eyes and waved him off.

"Michael doesn't get the opportunity to have a good fight often. He has to act as the Captain of the Hosts, that's a rear echelon job." The Metatron explained as Michael appeared on camera and dove in.

"Actually, do you mind if I go and help out? I could use the practice in the armour." Oz asked.

God waved goodbye to Oz and he too appeared on camera. In full armour with a plasma sword.

The demonic army didn't stand a chance.

"Hmm, Oz was right he does need the practice. Better have Xander train him up." Gaia mused.

"He seems to be doing ok." Faith said.

"Yes, but he is having trouble using the sword. He is more used to fighting with a traditional blade." Hades said as he observed with a critical eye.

"How can Oz use the armour?" Sam asked. "He doesn't have implants."

"He does, but only when he puts the armour on. Just like his body adjusts to fit the armour, it also means he can't hold an AI in his head like Xander did with Delta." Hades said.

They continued to watch as the warriors easily dispatched the demons. Till none were left.

The three returned to the briefing room banishing their armour.

"A WHALE!" Gaia screeched.

Xander skipped back in shock.

"I had a thought and realized I should avoid pyrotechnics near the Hellmouth in case the Mayor booby trapped it." He defended himself.

"But a whale?" She asked again, but softer.

"I got desperate." He shrugged. "But hey! Crispy fried Mayor." He grinned.

After cleaning up the bits of demon from around the school. The townspeople were allowed back in. They were told that most of the meteor broke up, but a piece did minor damage to the school.

A new school was being built anyway so it was not a big deal.

Due to the fact that a town in danger from a meteor was huge news in the world. The graduation was held at the College a few days later and the President himself gave the commencement speech.

After all, it's not everyday a town escapes destruction. It did feel a little odd to the Scoobs and friends when God turned up to watch and nobody bowed.

* * *

Word of Xander and Gaia's impending marriage had spread throughout Xander's territories like wildfire.

Within a week there was a diplomatic request from Sayel to allow a contingent of Jaffa to maintain security in the town during the summer so their Lord and future Lady could enjoy a honeymoon.

The President assured them that Sunnydale would be taken care of, but they wouldn't say no to an extra ship nearby to take care of the extra terrestrial threats.

The wedding had been planned. The groom had been given his marching orders.

It was to be a large event. But due to the number of dignitaries involved, security was very tight. The location was a secret. The location was actually another planet.

Xander was flanked by Oz and Jack.

The Scooby girls (and Xander had been hit on the back of the head for that name), were bridesmaids.

Michael was giving the bride away.

God was officiating. Of course the Metatron would be speaking.

It was an odd assortment of people. Everyone from Cordelia Chase to Charlie's Reetou Mother and various delegations from various realities.

Of course, it had not been easy to explain the concept of a human marriage to Mother. But she understood she was being honoured by being invited.

The ceremony took place on the Nox home world. A simple ceremony. An exchange of vows. A blessing from God and finally… a command to start dancing.

That deity loved to dance.

* * *

Xander was kept up to date on the happenings over the holidays and much to Gaia's annoyance, their honeymoon.

Sunnydale was it's usual boring self. The Scoobies spent a substantial amount of time getting Cordelia settled in LA. She wanted to try and get into the entertainment business. But she needed work.

A lot of work.

Xander had been particularly blunt about the fact that she had no talent for acting, so if she wanted to make it she needed to learn. He had sent her off to the best acting schools available. If she wanted to become an actress, he'd make sure she had the best chance at making it.

Xander and Gaia had returned from their honeymoon to see her off before returning to their secret hideaway.

Buffy, Willow and Oz were preparing for College. They all passed and Xander was paying their way. They decided to stay in Sunnydale, the three of them found a decent house near campus and they all moved in. There was plenty of room for Cordelia to crash if she visited. Not that travelling was hard to do when you asked for a transport and the next second you were there.

Giles, however, was beginning to experience a desire to curse Xander's name. Xander had arranged with the President for Giles to be the Principal of the new high school. Giles couldn't exactly refuse as the Queen said it would be a good idea. The plan was for the government to buy up the town and move in military families who had been briefed. The high school would eventually become a school filled with military brats.

Giles' current complaint was that he had to meet with contractors and sign a ton of papers. There was an unfortunate incident where a contractor from LA turned out to be part of a mob family. They tried to force Giles into some stupid contracts. A little bit of Ripper later and… Giles found himself hanging upside down from a tree.

Fortunately Oz was nearby and heard the commotion. The mob family suffered a severe blow when five of its enforcers began confessing everything and claiming a computer game character tried to kill them.

* * *

Xander and Gaia returned as the summer drew to an end.

Gaia instantly ran off to find Willow, she refused to say why. She was very excited though.

Xander made his way to the SGC to catch up with the others and pop in and see Sha're and Joyce.

The place was in chaos.

Xander teleported straight to George.

"Yes sir, the Asgard believe our projectile weaponry will fare better than… Xander just arrived." George said into the red phone.

"…"

"I will sir, SG1 will probably complain when they realize this might count as a rescue." George chuckled as he hung up.

"Let me guess, I just get back and Jack's already in trouble." Xander said as dropped into the guest chair in George's office.

"Actually, Thor is the one in trouble." George said. "Apparently a threat in his galaxy discovered Earth in their records and decided we were ripe for the picking."

"This threat is on it's way to Earth?" Xander asked in shock.

"Apparently, it's here." George said.

"And SG1 is up there?"

George nodded.

"Ok, what type of threat are we talking about." He sighed.

"Some kind of metallic bug that consumes technology. Thor beamed up Jack hoping he could do something, but it's a one way trip. We can't even find the Asgard ship. But Thor arranged so that you can go to the ship via beam up but not leave. The rest of SG1 have already gone up with weaponry. Daniel has just recovered from appendix surgery, Doctor Frasier is not pleased. But Sha're has been practicing with the Goa'uld healing device and sorted him out."

"Really? Go Sha're!" He said proudly.

"She requested one for the daycare center. No point leaving children to painful Earth procedures when they can be knocked out with a drink or shot and then healed."

"Cool." Xander said. "Ok, I'll go nab Oz, he's good with a gun and has the Spartan Armour. Delta will probably be enough but still."

"How do you carry Delta these days? You don't have implants."

"My evolution allows me to possess a human like the Alpha. Xander is immune to possession but I can comfortably reside in his mind until needed." The AI explained as he appeared.

"Impressive. Well, I'll let you two get to it, no telling what trouble SG1 is getting into." George chuckled.

He long ago learnt that you couldn't stress over every major threat. You had to just trust your people. Otherwise you'd wind up with a heart attack.

* * *

"Ok, why is Teal'c doing an impression of Mr Staypuff?" Xander asked as they watched Jack help Teal'c put the space suit on.

"We need to plant explosives on the deceleration drive so the ship burns up on re-entry." Jack explained.

"And you didn't bother calling one of the two guys with armoured easy to move in space suits because…?" Xander asked.

Jack and Teal'c just looked at each other then started to remove the suit.

"We're a little stressed!" Jack said annoyed.

"Yes, but a good lesson to learn from this is that you are not the only option when it comes to saving the planet. You've got plenty of allies." Xander said.

"This ship is so well cloaked no one can find it." Teal'c pointed out.

"Give Oz the charges, he'll handle that. Delta and I are going to go meet the bugs." Xander said, he turned to Oz. "Give me a call when your ready I'll bring you back in."

Oz was standing outside the airlock, literally standing on the hull.

He knelt down to look at Jack through the window. "Hey, Jack? Next time just throw a communicator out the window." He said as he tossed a spare unit away from the ship.

"Gate Ship, this is Oz. The beacon is away."

Jack turned to Teal'c. "What's he doing?" He asked as they watched the communicator tumble away, Oz walked off to the drive section.

A minute later the Gate Ship came into view and began firing a wide spread at the ship lighting up the cloaked hull.

"What the hell! They're gonna hit Oz!" Jack said angrily.

"Relax Jack, they're basically shooting the equivalent of a paintball at the general location. They'll be no damage but they will be able to track the ship." Oz assured him as he continued on his way.

"Oz, the airlock has just been compromised." Jack said as a bunch of replicators swarmed through a breach.

"Doesn't matter, Xander will handle it." Oz said calmly.

"You ever get the impression they handle far more serious stuff than we do? Nothing seems to phase those two." Jack said.

"I do. They are most impressive." Teal'c agreed.

"That or crazy." Sam said over the comm.

"Nothing wrong with being a little nuts." Oz said. "Sam I'm here, what do I do?"

* * *

Xander entered the control room to find SG1 staring at the console and Thor lying in a stasis pod.

"What's with Thor?" Xander asked.

"He was dying so I had to activate the stasis pod." Sam said sadly.

"Oh, ok. Back in a mo." He said as he placed his hands on the pod and vanished out with it.

"And yet… still not jealous." Jack said.

"I find that strange too. I have no desire for his abilities." Daniel agreed.

"Perhaps it is because he only uses them to aid us and we know full well that he works hard for them and eventually will pay a greater price." Teal'c offered.

"Ok, he's settled, he'll be back up to scratch in a day or so." Xander said as he settled in.

"Xander, I'm done out here." Oz said over the comm.

Xander vanished out and reappeared with Oz.

"Nope, not jealous at all." Sam agreed.

"Ok, so those bugs are a hive mind and Delta has their basic info but can't control them. They're pure tech and non-demonic so I can't control or communicate with them." Xander said.

"And we just have to wait for the right moment to blow the charges so the ship hopefully burns up on re-entry." Sam said.

"And doesn't crash into the planet and release the bugs." Jack added.

Xander stared at him for a moment.

"DAMMIT!" He screamed.

This caused them all to jump back.

"There is no reason for this ship to crash into this planet!" He said frustrated. "I can teleport entire ships around the universe, I can put it in orbit in any planet I want!"

"You can?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Yeah, did it when those aliens invaded who impersonated every one." Xander said.

"Sam, could the Replicators make the ship escape from a black hole's pull?" Oz asked.

"I doubt it, even an Asgard ship has limits." She said. "Besides, blow the deceleration drive and it lowers the chances."

"Ok, blow the charges, I'll send you over to the Gate Ship and put this thing on course for the black hole." Xander said.

"Shouldn't we-"

"No, Daniel. Thanks but I'll be gone for several months on this end. Your wife would not be pleased, you also might be needed here."

"He's right, we can't do it for him because he's the only one who can transport back." Sam said.

"Oz, you might have to pull double duty whilst I'm gone." Xander said.

"No big. Like you said we have plenty of allies."

* * *

General Hammond had decided to oversee the current crisis from on board the Gate Ship. They were currently bombarding it with very weak energy blasts so they could track it.

He was surprised when SG1 appeared in the Gate Room with Oz and Xander.

Xander just waved at him and vanished out again.

"Sir, you can cease fire on the Asgard ship." Sam said.

"Cease fire." He ordered. He then left the control room to greet his people and Oz.

"Report Colonel."

"Plan was to burn up the ship in atmosphere. Xander realized he could transport the ship anywhere, he was going to pick an abandoned planet. Oz suggested the black hole." Jack said succinctly.

"Bad news is he'll be gone for a few months due to the time dilation." Sam said.

"Who's going to tell Gaia?" Daniel asked.

"Daniel, Xander and I have been together for over a thousand years. Granted we've only been married for a month, but a couple of months apart won't kill us. We have eternity." Gaia said as she appeared. "Besides, he's not exactly in any danger. From his point of view he'll be gone maybe twenty minutes tops."


	32. Chapter 32

Everyone was on tenterhooks with Xander gone. Gaia assured them this would be a good test to see if all the things Xander had set up like allies, would work out.

For the most part the Scoobies continued as normal. The high school opened in record time. Faith was not pleased. She was going to high school on her own now. But Jenny and Giles made sure she would be fine.

Church had gotten himself enrolled at the school. He did look a little old at times, but then again, so did some of the other students.

Faith was ecstatic.

Willow, Buffy and Oz settled in at College and their new home. Their classes were a little tough. Buffy got into a class she thought she'd like. She got lost and was late, and the professor was a bastard.

"Do you understand? You are sucking energy from everyone in this room. They came here to learn. Get out!" The professor said nastily.

Buffy was having a bad day.

"I was told that if I came here, I might still be able to sign up. If I go check the rules, will that be true?" She asked with growing ire.

"Why are you arguing? Get OUT!" He roared.

"You are an abusive little man. I demand an apology for your insults and accusations!" She demanded.

She had spent a lot of time around Giles and Xander. They seemed get very formal at times like this, she figured it must work.

"An apology!" He scoffed. "You'll be lucky to find a job by the time I'm finished with you, you little whore!"

Several of the students gasped at that.

Buffy just stared at him.

"What's wrong? Is the little bitch gonna whine and cry?" He mocked.

Buffy just shrugged and pulled out her phone.

"Yes, 911? I have just been verbally harassed by my professor, he is becoming increasingly aggressive. I need help." She said calmly.

"…"

"Buffy Summers, at the UC Sunnydale Campus."

"…"

"Thank you, I'll be here waiting."

"You really think the cops will believe some little slut over me?" He asked incredulously.

Buffy just dialed again.

"Hey, Robert. Can you come to my location and help me out? The Professor seems to be a bit of a misogynist, I've called the police, but I could use some back up."

"Oh, she knows some big words." He mocked.

"…"

"Thanks Robert." She said as she hung up.

Several seconds later a tall man with light brown, short cropped hair who looked very military stormed into the room whilst on the phone.

"I don't care, you get him here now!" He raged.

"Hey Buff, this the guy?" He greeted Buffy.

Buffy just nodded.

"Got the whole deal recorded?" She nodded again.

The professor went slightly pale.

"I don't care who you are. This is my classroom and I run it how I want!" He blustered.

"Actually, you're suspended effective immediately." Robert Makepeace declared. "Pending a full investigation, which will include looking closely at your markings from past years and checking complaints."

"And just who do you think you are?" He asked snidely.

"The Mayor."

Needless to say, the professor was carted off. The classes had to be cancelled until a new professor could be hired.

This was the only good part of his new job as far as Robert was concerned. He should by all rights be in military prison, for life. But Lord Xander had requested his secret trial and parole into his custody.

He may not be able to trust the man with off world matters, but he knew he wouldn't fail in the defense from the supernatural.

Despite the fact that he had some freedom, he was restricted to Sunnydale, and got to stay with his family… Xander had found the perfect punishment. Bureaucratic politics. He already had a growing case of carpal tunnel syndrome. He often referred to his new life as 'punishment from God… or at least sanctioned by a future god'. But he did try not to complain too much, Xander was giving him a chance.

That said, the Sunnydale Crew, known as the Scoobies, were very close to his heart. Like Jack he hated the idea of children fighting. But he had a great respect for what they did, he intended to make their lives as easy as possible. Hence his instant response to Buffy's call.

It was revealed that the professor was too harsh on female students. There were cases of physical abuse too. Buffy's recording via Beta sealed his fate. It was the key that opened the door to his past transgressions. Oz was very proud of Buffy, as was Giles. She managed to sort the whole thing out without a single punch.

She wasn't sure if she was being insulted.

Other than a few vamps, and one wannabe master, there was only a minor demon to deal with. Oz had smelt something off and tracked her. She was eventually dragged to her home dimension by her father though. There was a big problem though.

Spike and Drusilla had turned up looking for a fabled gem that made a vamp practically immortal. Apparently it didn't protect against severed heads as Oz sliced that off as soon as he saw him. Drusilla bolted pretty quick. The question became, what to do with the ring.

Oz insisted they have it held onto by Sayel off world. Then let Xander decide. Everyone knew he was considering giving it to Liam.

"I don't like him anymore than you do, but he has a job to do and he is doing it." Oz said. "But he is severely handicapped whilst he can't go out during the day."

"I suppose it's not too big a deal. Xander knows him well enough to teleport to him and decapitate him if he goes bad." Giles said.

"Oh! And, no curse, so no clause, so no Angelus!" Willow said, the name causing Buffy to flinch.

"You promise to kill him if he goes bad?" She said pleadingly to Oz.

"I promise." He said pulling her tightly to him.

Buffy shuddered a sigh. "Ok, we'll give it to Sayel till Xander gets back."

"Actually, I believe this should be entirely Oz's decision and action to make and take." Gaia said as she appeared.

"This is more Xander's domain, big decisions and all." Oz objected.

"Xander trusts you with the Slayers. He also trusts you to lead in his absence." Gaia said firmly. "You make decisions in his absence and carry them out or order them carried out. Now, off you go." Oz vanished as she waved goodbye at him.

"Direct interference?" Willow queried.

"Nah, I didn't do anything he couldn't do with a teleporter, I just sped things up without affecting anything important."

* * *

Oz rolled his eyes as he found himself with several pistols pointed his way.

"Lord Oz?" One of the wielders queried.

"Hey Rolan, guys." Oz said with a nod. "Gaia decided I needed to come here and talk to tall, dark and broody."

The Jaffa chuckled. They were easily dressed in civilian clothing and carried human weapons to avoid loosing alien tech on Earth.

"Yes, Cordelia often refers to him as that." Rolan smirked.

"Cordy's here?" Oz asked in surprise.

"Yes, there was an incident with a master vampire who was involved with actresses and Cordelia got caught up in it."

"I assume it all worked out?" Oz asked as he noted the snickering from the other Jaffa who had taken relaxed positions around the office.

"We arrived to find her dousing him with a bottle of Holy Water and preparing to stake him. Unfortunately, that was when the guards with guns arrived."

"Glad to hear Hollywood hasn't dulled her fighting skills."

"As if, wolf boy!" Cordelia snarked as she emerged from the elevator with Liam and a shorter dark haired man following. "It didn't take long to identify him as a vamp." She said as she stepped over and hugged him. "How's the gang?"

"Good. Hoping you will remember that we are only a teleporter away for you to visit." Oz said pointedly.

"Well you should tell the girls to get down to LA, the Bronze pales in comparison to what's in this town." She said excitedly.

"What brings you to LA?" Liam asked as he kept a decent distance between them. He was very aware that this was Buffy's boyfriend and that he was probably always half a breath from death around him.

Oz of course could sense this fear. "You would have to do something drastically stupid for me to want to take action against you. So relax."

"Who's Frankie?" The other guy asked indicating Oz. His flippant attitude caused the Jaffa to growl. "Whoa, boys, easy! No harm meant!" He said backing up slightly.

Cordelia made the introductions. "Oz, meet Doyle, he's a seer sent to Liam by the Fallen. Doyle, this is Oz, Hound of God and right hand of Lord Xander."

"Oh god oh god oh god oh god" Doyle backed up right behind Liam causing the Jaffa to look on in amusement.

"Jeeze! Grow a spine, Doyle." Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"A SPINE?" Doyle screemed. "I've seen what those monsters do, I know how they treat demons, I have a spine, I just happen to like it where it is!"

"And yet, the Jaffa in this room aren't dead and they have demons inside them, Liam is technically a vampire and he isn't dead either." Oz said calmly.

Doyle looked nervously around the room from his defensive position behind Liam. He had been told that the big guys carried demon worms in their bellies, he'd even been shown them… and offered a stiff drink after. But they were still standing. Still staring at him with amused expressions.

"What about your boss? Lord Xander?" Doyle countered.

"Are you evil?"

Doyle was a little taken aback by the blunt yet simple question. "Erm… I don't go around killing and hurting people… been known to place a few bets on the ponies and drink too much, but no one ever called me evil… not even 'me ex!"

Oz shrugged. "Then my boss will take one look at you and probably say hi. End of story."

"Oh for the love of the Tutu'd One!" Cordelia cried as she stormed over and dragged Doyle in front of Oz. "As long as you don't go down the dark side you won't have to worry about it, if you do then Liam or the boys here will deal with you before Oz or Xander even get wind of it."

"So… Oz, how can I be of service?" Liam asked as he smothered a smile.

"Time for you to step out of the night and get a tan." Oz said as he tossed the ring to him.

Liam caught the ring and turned it over in his hands, examining it. Trying to piece together how this simple ring was going to…

"My god! The Gem of Amara?" Liam asked with a mixture of wonder and horror.

Oz just nodded. "Spike popped up and dug that up. We relieved him of it and now you get more responsibilities for your extra abilities."

"But this is far too dangerous, if other vampires heard I had this-"

"Then you wouldn't have to go looking for them." Oz finished, not letting Liam argue it away.

"We're going to need some serious improvements for security around here, especially when we sleep." Liam pointed out as he slowly came to grips with what was being offered to him. The ability to walk in the daylight, be nearly as invulnerable as Oz. There were so many people he could help with the ring.

"I'll have George and the AI's set it up." Oz assured him.

* * *

Oz returned to Sunnydale and the general day-to-day patrols and college classes. It was fairly relaxing and very annoying that Xander was not around to enjoy it.

Oz did get a call from the SGC, it turned out a young Tok'ra with a severe superiority complex had tricked SG1, barring Teal'c who was immune, into trying some experimental bracelets on from an extinct race.

The bracelets seemed to boost the speed and strength of the bearer beyond even Xander and Oz's levels. It also appeared to cause them to act rashly, this led to their current situation.

The human contingent of SG1 was now attempting to destroy a Goa'uld Battleship, which was being built by a minor Goa'uld who had served Apophis and now controlled part of his armies. The ship was such a threat that it put the freedom of their galaxy at risk.

Oz and Teal'c were prepped to ship out, but General Hammond had a surprise for them on the Gate Ship.

"Wow, you finished a Warthog!" Oz said in awe.

He had immersed himself in the Halo series, the games, books and lore. Everything he could find. He wanted to better understand what Xander remembered. The Warthog was a key feature in the series.

"I figured you could use the faster mode of transport." George explained. "It's still just a prototype, so this will be a good test."

"Looks good. I notice you added a flat compartment between the gun and the cab." Oz said.

"It was decided that the Mongoose ATV's would be scout vehicles, but we wanted the Warthog to have the ability to transport injured and cargo quickly." George explained. "Hopefully you won't be dealing with injured today."

"Agreed." Teal'c said. "I will man the gun, I am still unfamiliar with Earth based ground vehicles."

"Ok, I can handle that." Oz said.

Oz and Teal'c were definitely enjoying themselves as they raced across the terrain. This was a far cry from flying a death glider. A lack of gravity and the inertial dampeners meant you didn't feel much momentum in a flight, unless you entered atmosphere. But in the Warthog you felt the momentum. The suspension took the harshness of the jolts, but it was still a wild ride. Teal'c promised himself to get training on driving off road vehicles.

The gun was of little use. Jack, Sam and Daniel had knocked out most of the Jaffa. A few had died. It was eerie driving through the inert battlefield of sleeping or dead bodies.

They reached the ship and left the Warthog. They met little to no resistance. They eventually came across an unconscious Daniel with Jack and Sam kneeling over him.

"Little bit of trouble guys?" Oz asked.

"Thank god!" Sam declared.

"I'm sure she appreciates it." Oz remarked. "Arm bands failing?"

"Yeah, he just got tired, it fell off and he passed out." Sam explained.

"His vitals are fine, he's just tired, exhaustion." Oz said checking his monitors via their ODST armour sensors.

"We have three minutes before this place blows." Jack warned.

Oz just hoisted Daniel over his shoulder and headed off. "Let's go."

Unfortunately they were accosted from behind by a Jaffa patrol.

"We'll handle them and be right behind you." Jack said.

"Take Daniel and load him up, I'll watch these two." Oz said handing the groggy archeologist over.

As Teal'c jogged off, Oz watched the two zip in and dodge and disable the Jaffa.

As they finished Oz noticed a force field go up.

"Don't worry Oz, we can run through them." Jack assured him. "Major." He said indicating she should go first.

Sam blurred through the shield tripping and falling in the exit.

"Sam!" Jack cried as he raced at the field, only to bounce of and collapse.

"Damn it." Oz growled. "O'Mally, go find the C4 and put it on hold, give me ten minutes on the clock and then get back here. On your way see if you can kill the fields."

"As long as I get to set the explosives off, you promised!" He groused as he flickered off.

"Sam, wake up!" Oz said as he shook the Major.

"Whassup?" She slurred.

"On your feet Major, we have a problem." He ordered hauling her to her feet.

"What?" She asked then noticed Jack lying at the other end of the field. "Jack!" She cried.

She ran to the field and started banging and shouting for Jack to wake up.

Oz was examining the force field.

"Oh my head." Jack moaned.

"Jack we have to get you out of there: your trapped." Sam said frantically. Rank had left the building.

Jack checked his watch. "Damn. There's no time. Get out of here. That's an order."

"No!" She screamed. "Your not leaving Charlie and me."

"Don't have much of a say in the matter." Jack said sadly.

"We have time." Oz said calmly, pointedly ignoring the emotional display that could cause them problems. "O'Mally is resetting the clock and trying to disable the fields."

"See, what do I always say about optimism?" Jack grinned. But it was forced.

"Ok, stand back, I'm going to try and drop the field."

"Oz, you can't, they can withstand a C4 charge. We tested them." Sam said. She very much felt like breaking down.

"I know, but Xander taught me a valuable lesson. Its like with magic, it can't be used to hurt or harm either of us. But it can be used to manipulate our environment to hurt us."

"And this helps us how?" Jack asked.

"If a direct approach doesn't work, go for the indirect." Oz said as he ignited his plasma sword and inserted it into the wall. "The arrogance of the Goa'uld is their downfall."

The gold melted easily revealing the metal struts behind, it also allowed Oz a clearer picture of how the emitters were embedded into the struts.

Oz gripped the strut and squeezed.

Unfortunately it was strong, he made a dent, but not enough of one.

He braced his armoured leg on the wall and gripped the strut with both hands and pulled it towards him.

The movement was slow and torturous, but it was moving steadily.

Two minutes later and there was a big enough gap for Jack to squeeze through.

"Let's move." Oz said as he headed off, ignoring the hug that Sam and Jack exchanged.

They made it someway before encountering another field.

By this point O'Mally returned.

"We have eight minutes. I decided to be kind." He said condescendingly. "The force fields are on a simple switch system. Not something I can manipulate."

"I can access the struts and pull it across so we can get through, but it takes time, any better ideas?" Oz asked the AI.

"Place a Zat gun behind the strut. Xander had three plasma grenades he never used. One of them should, combined with the naquada in the zat, be enough to destroy the strut."

Thirty seconds later and they had met up with a worried Teal'c and Daniel.

"Why are you still here?" Jack demanded.

"I knew Oz would find a way out." Teal'c said with a smile.

"You did?" Daniel asked in disbelief.

"He is just as resourceful as Xander and Major Carter." He declared.

"What about me?" Jack asked.

"I believe we should make haste." Teal'c said pointedly ignoring Jack's question and leaving Sam and Daniel snickering.

Jack's pouting was put on hold when he saw the Warthog.

"Cool! I'll drive!" He declared as he headed for the drivers seat only to be hauled back by Oz. "Maybe next time. You can take shotgun."

"Can't I at least man the turret?" He whined.

"I'd rather someone who wasn't recovering from exhaustion handled the deadly weapons. I'd like to get you all back safe and sound. Charlie and Sha're will kick my ass if I don't."

Despite Jack's initial pouting at the start of the ride, he was hollering and hooting by the time they reached the gate.

Teal'c got the opportunity to test the turret as many of the Jaffa had awakened.

He was impressed by the accuracy and deadliness of the weapon. But without cover the Jaffa stood no chance. He could not take pride in his work, he felt dishonour for having to do this.

It was a slaughter.

Even Jack ceased his jubilant cries as he witnessed how easily the Jaffa were being dispatched.

Eventually they reached the gate, an addition by the Tollan enabled a remote dial, they didn't even have to stop and get out to use the DHD. They slammed into the force field that protected the DHD and techs from gate room where General Hammond rushed to greet them.

"Colonel are you alright?"

"Yes, sir. Just realizing the stupidity of our mistake." He said as he removed his helmet.

"Well, try not to worry. According to Anise and Frasier, the arm bands removed your ability to make good judgment." George assured them.

"Thanks sir." He sighed sadly. "Unfortunately, we got to see the turret in action." He said indicating the smoking barrel. "It was so effective that the Jaffa had no chance. It seemed… unfair."

"Why?" Oz asked as he banished his armour.

"They didn't even have a chance to defend themselves." Sam protested.

"You really think they were going to give the people they were going to use that ship on a chance to defend themselves?" Oz asked. "Xander gave them the chance for peace. To fight in defense of others. They chose to follow someone who they knew would order them to slaughter the innocent and defenseless. And I'm talking about women and children."

"I still can not help but feel, guilty." Teal'c said.

"Did you feel guilty when you blew up Apophis' ships when he attempted to attack Earth?"

The four shrugged and shook their heads. They were saving the planet.

"Now, that is the problem. The only reason you feel guilty now is because you saw the faces and individuals of the soldiers you killed." Oz said sternly. "You need to remember that every time you destroy an enemy vehicle, whether it be a death glider or a mother ship, there are individuals on those ships."

"Oz is right." Gaia said stepping in as she appeared. "Part of the reason you feel guilty though is because you only had to kill the Jaffa because the bracelets gave you bad judgment and you were gung-ho. You only took the mission to prove something. If you had taken the mission without the bracelets affecting you, then you would have less guilt." She said. "It's a whole subconscious thing." She said dismissively.

"SG1 is on medical stand down pending a full work up." General Hammond ordered. "I suggest you take the time and relax. Anise has been sanctioned by Per'sus. She will be working under the authority of a team. Apparently she wasn't authorized to ask us to test them."

"It does seem odd to test them on a front line team." Sam noted. "I guess we should have discussed it more first."

"This incident will be used as an example to set up guidelines for experiments and tests like this." He assured them. "Anise does seem sincerely upset by the pain caused, she will be part of the team to set up the guidelines."

"So Gaia, just here to cheer us up or…?" Jack asked.

"Actually, Buffy asked me to tell Oz to make sure he has his costume ready for the party tonight." Gaia said smiling sweetly.

"I'm sorted." He said with a shrug.

"Anything interesting?" Jack asked.

"Thought I'd go as myself." He grinned as he donned his armour.

"You'll definitely win the prize for authenticity." Sam remarked.

Oz banished his armour. "What about you guys? Got plans?"

"We are meeting up at Jenny and Rupert's. Sha're and Joyce are going to bring the kids and we'll put them to bed in the spare rooms." Daniel said.

* * *

Oz, Willow, Gaia and Buffy were walking to the frat house where the party was. Buffy had gone as Little Red Riding Hood to accompany her wolf. Who was dressed as a Spartan from a video game… it made sense to her.

Willow and Gaia had dressed as Greek gods. White togas and wreaths made them stand out. Faith was far out of her usual style and dressed in a silver jacket and a tutu.

"I decided to come as my hero." Was her explanation.

Church had donned his ODST armour to join Oz's theme. Whilst Cordelia, who had teleported in was dressed as Hathor.

"I saw the video feeds and she was a demon, so this kinda makes sense." She argued.

They came across some men in commando suits as they made their way to the frat house where the party was being held. The men stopped and stared at the large computer game figure before shaking it off and continuing.

"Nice costumes." Buffy remarked. "Very stealthy."

"What are they supposed to be?" Willow asked as they watched them disappear down the street.

"No idea, but those weapons were real." Oz said.

"I thought only the Jaffa were in town." Willow said.

"So did I. I need to go check with George. I'll call you if I get caught up." Oz said as he waved goodbye.

"Cool, girls night out." Willow said gleefully.

"And what the hell do you think I am?" Church asked indignantly.

"All man, Baby." Faith purred.

* * *

"Hey George, sorry to interrupt your evening, do we have human patrols in town tonight?" Oz asked as he tracked the guys with guns. He had called George at Giles' through his suit. He was still trying to figure out all the features.

_"No, just the regular Jaffa."_ George said.

"I've got a couple of commando's in unmarked uniforms and ski masks with some weird weaponry." Oz explained.

George didn't bother questioning Oz's findings, he knew the young man would have double checked before bothering him. Not that he minded.

_"What do you plan to do?"_

"I need to get back to Buffy, she isn't responding to her phone or communicator, in this town that's a bad thing."

_"I'll inform Rupert, we'll also send the Jaffa patrol to your current location to see if they notice anything."_ George promised.

"Thanks."

Oz was not a happy puppy. He had been forced to abandon his investigation of the commandos when Buffy didn't respond. Now the house where the party was had literally closed up. Doors and windows vanishing.

Giles had arrived via teleportation at Oz's request. Sam, Jack and Teal'c tagging along.

"I recommend you head in and try and report back over the comm what you find." Giles said. "I suspect a fear demon, and I would not like to see what it could pull from the four of us." Giles shuddered.

"Make my own doors?" Oz asked.

"Have fun." Giles grinned.

Oz shrugged in his armour and walked through the wall. The others watched in amazement as the wall rebuilt and sealed itself.

"Guess we wait." Jack said.

Only the door suddenly reappeared and opened.

Oz stopped in his tracks and looked back. "Better wait there till I can-"

_"Oz? Can you hear me?"_ Buffy's voice came over the radio.

"Yeah, hun. I'm downstairs. Had to make a door, but it's back now."

_"Yeah, there was a fear demon. Willow kicked it's ass though."_ Buffy said with obvious glee.

"Willow did?" Sam asked with disbelief.

Willow and Sam spent a lot of time exchanging ideas and chatting about theories. She was not really a fighter though.

"Should we come up?" Oz asked.

_"Actually, we could use some medical support. Things got really freaky."_ She said.

"It's on the way." Oz said.

"I'll make the call, you and Giles head up." Jack said. "Oh, Oz. Lose the armour, no need to scare the kids anymore."

* * *

The Jaffa had been unable to locate the commandos. But the Sunnydale group was on the look out and Robert Makepeace and General Hammond were investigating quietly.

Word was that the President was worried. He wanted to get to the bottom of this quickly.

The other revelation from this incident was Willow.

Apparently, having felt helpless one too many times, she had asked Gaia if she would teach her to use non-demony magic. Willow Rosenberg was now the first true High Priestess of Gaia in several millennium. She was pretty powerful too. Gaia and Willow had spent a lot of time in secret training.

Having realized they had the information on the fear demon there in the house, Willow had subsequently banished the demon and cleansed the house. A party was planned for when Xander returned to celebrate both his return and Willow's graduation.

Meanwhile a new werewolf had cropped up. This had brought back a lot of bad feelings on Oz's part. He decided to request Robert's help.

"I'm just a bit… uneasy dealing with werewolves. Especially after what happened with me and Jordy." Oz explained. "My guess is that Xander would have issues too."

"He would, why?" Robert asked as they sat in his office.

"One of the first official missions Gaia sent him on was to deal with my Uncle and Aunt who infected Jordy and allowed me to become infected. He was allowed to try and talk to them, but if they still refused… he had to kill them." Oz said. "God had to come and help him deal with the guilt of the executions."

"Damn." Robert muttered. "That is not one of the stories freely passed around the base. With good reason, clearly."

Robert stood up and began to prepare to leave.

"You take the lead and I'll be your backup." He said. "Chances are you'll have to deal with this a lot in your em_very/em_ long life. Might as well start now."

Oz nodded as they left the office.

"We'll confront her now. Warn her that if she doesn't change her ways, she won't wake up tomorrow."

Having confronted the female werewolf named Veruca (poor girl), Robert decided Oz could use a decent distraction so he invited himself and his family over to Oz and the girls for dinner.

Buffy and Willow were fawning over the little girl. Gaia turned up and the three of them were at it.

"Gaia, can you and Xander have kids?" Buffy asked nervously.

Gaia smiled to show she didn't mind the question. "Not yet. We aren't compatible at the moment. But once he attains his godhood we will start our own family." She said wistfully.

"Will they be little gods?" Willow asked excitedly.

Gaia laughed. "No, they will be powerful humans, like Oz. They will be destined to be leaders in Xander's mortal armies."

"Does Xander know?" Buffy asked.

"A thousand years together Buffy." She reminded the slayer. "We often discussed it."

"That's so sad." Willow said.

Gaia and Buffy looked at her.

"We won't live long enough to meet them." She pouted.

"Willow, it wouldn't matter. Don't you think that regardless of where you go, Xander and I will visit you?"

"Promise?" She asked excitedly.

"Promise." She said hugging her protégé.

In the middle of dinner, Beta announced that Veruca was approaching. Robert and Oz shared a look. It was nearing sundown. There were only two reasons for her to come now. And by cutting it so close, they didn't think she was looking for help. Robert had his wife and daughter beamed home.

"Veruca. I don't suppose you are here to turn yourself in?" Oz said as he opened the door.

"I got hungry. You threatened me… you can be dinner." She said with a malicious smile. "And the kid I smell will make a great desert."

That one boiled everyone's blood, Robert was about to handle this one himself when Oz put a hand out to stop him.

"Veruca, you have given me no choice but to execute you. Fortunately your statements and actions here assuage any guilt I might feel."

Veruca scoffed. "You think a little man and a couple of girls can take on a full wolf!"

"You are not a full wolf. You are an abomination." He said changing to his own wolf form.

Veruca was stunned. The moon wasn't up yet! How could he transform? He was also a true wolf, not the horrible demonic form she took.

"Beta, lock on to Oz and Veruca." Buffy ordered calmly. "Transport them to a holding cell on the Gate Ship."

There was a flash of light and the two vanished.

"Beam the rest of us to the Gate Ship." She ordered.

* * *

Siler was a little surprised when the Sunnydale crew appeared. Especially with Robert Makepeace.

"Sir, Ma'am's. Problem?" He asked respectfully.

"Had to beam Oz and a rogue Werewolf to the holding cells. Didn't want to cause a mess or let her escape." Buffy explained.

"With your permission we'd like to head down to make sure every things ok and let the guards know what's going on." Robert said. He felt very out of place. He still considered himself a traitor.

"Certainly sir. I'll call the guards and let them know you're on the way and alert the General." Siler said.

They reached the cells and found a bloody mess. Oz had torn into Veruca in wolf form. The Jaffa on guard were looking a little green.

"You can let him out now." Gaia told the Jaffa.

Gaia's word was as good as Xander's amongst his Jaffa. There had been much celebration on hearing of his marriage to the goddess. There were two public holidays planned as a new tradition. The anniversary of their wedding, and the day Lord Xander emerged from Hell and became an angel. They were to be considered holy days.

Oz transformed back to his human form and walked out of the cell a mite confused. "Was I supposed to kill her like that?"

Gaia smiled. "Yes, the ultimate version of 'a taste of your own medicine'."

"She tasted vile." Oz shuddered.

Gaia produced a bottle of strong wine. "We can celebrate tonight. One of your missions as a true werewolf is to destroy the demonic kind. This was your first time." She said proudly.

"What about those who like Oz would have locked themselves up?" Willow asked.

"Werewolves are immortal, not indestructible, but they will live a very long time. If they prove their worth, they will be offered a place in Oz's pack serving Xander, or they will be granted a cure and a place in the underworld." Gaia said. "Right now she is receiving her reward in Hell."

All four of them shuddered at that. Buffy, Oz and Willow had been there for Xander's trip. But the story was told throughout the SGC and it's allies.

"Oz, everything ok?" Jack asked as he and General Hammond jogged down the corridor.

"Yeah, just a werewolf problem with no hope of repentance." Oz said resignedly.

"Looks like we will need to arrange a special facility to handle this sort of thing." George mused as he noted the mess in the cell.

"Sorry about that." Buffy said sheepishly. "I figured we didn't want her running and we didn't want to make a mess and attract attention."

"A good call. But we will need to sit down with Rupert and yourselves to discuss the best sort of facility for this." George said smiling.

* * *

Soon after the werewolf in Sunnydale, disaster hit the SGC and allies. The combined allies of the SGC were due to meet for a summit with the five nations leaders that were to join the Stargate Program.

Preliminary security meetings between the SGC and the allies teams revealed that the SGC had been compromised and some of its personnel turned into pre-programmed sleeper agents. Only they had been brainwashed and had no idea what they were or what their mission was. There was a great state of shock when Jack and Sam where revealed to be the agents, referred to as Zatarcs by Anise.

"Oz, we'd like you and Buffy to raise Charlie." Jack told the two young people as they sat in their guarded quarters with Sam.

"We've arranged for Joyce, Daniel and Sha're to help and he'll stay with Joyce, but we'd like you to raise him." Sam clarified.

"We would have named you his godparents if we had the choice." Jack shrugged.

Buffy was about to protest.

"In the event that you are incapacitated and unable to fulfill you parental duties, we will take care of him." Oz said firmly. "For now, let's get back to figuring out a solution which makes my promise redundant."

Eventually they were able to realize that Sam and Jack were not Zatarcs. But Martouf was caught too late. Sam killed him. Saving his body to help Anise find a solution for future Zatarcs.

Xander would be devastated when he found out. He and Martouf and Lantesh had been the pranksters of the SGC and it's allies. They were close friends. Now Lantesh was without a host and without his friend.

* * *

"I think it would be best if Sam was the one to join us. Jack's military command experience will be useful to Earth based forces. Sam's skills and genius can be applied outside of the military." Oz explained

"It will be hard. You'll have to give them a no win situation, and explain that it won't really change much." The President said.

"Why not make them the candidates for a new team? A prototype for the first UNSC Gate Team?" Gaia suggested.

"We could, but we'll need one of them to take Oz's suggestion or it will be an obvious case of favouritism. If one of them leaves so they can pursue the relationship, then we can always recall them if the opportunity arises."

"This will leave SG1 short for a while." Oz noted. "Ordinarily I would recommend someone like Martouf and Lantesh." He sighed.

"Quite frankly there are only two people that Jack O'Neill would consider as replacements. He is stubborn and does not like change." The President said. "I actually worked with him way back when."

"Can't we get one of them?" Oz asked.

Gaia had a small smirk on her face.

"I would love to. Xander however is out of the question. He needs to be available at anytime and can't be restricted to a military routine." The President sighed.

"I believe you can convince the other one. You will only be able to use him as a civilian liaison. Preferably a diplomat." Gaia said.

"Why do I get the impression you're not talking about Giles?" Oz frowned.

"You!" Gaia said in mock exasperation. "You'd be perfect. You have the ability to get out of things just by talking. You're hard to kill, have the armour as well. Quite frankly, you could be the key to keeping SG1 out of trouble!" She ranted.

Oz looked ready to object.

"It would only be until we can set up the new teams and get Carter back. The new teams will literally be the best of the best." The President assured him.

"Xander will be back within the week as well, so Sunnydale will be covered." Gaia added.

Oz looked between the two. He knew a lost battle when he saw it. It looked like SG1 now had a Spartan on the team.


	33. Chapter 33

"So Willow is a Priestess of Gaia and a pretty powerful one too, there are commando guys bouncing around Sunnydale, Martouf is dead, Sam resigned her commission and you joined SG1?" Xander asked, summarizing the news that the gang had given him.

"Well, those are just the highlights." Giles said. "I have kept a written record as a Watcher, and SG1 has its reports."

"Yeah, guess I'll have to read those then won't I." He sighed.

Xander had returned from dropping off the Replicator infected Asgard ship at the black hole. He had landed at the Jaffa Mansion. The new Sunnydale teleportation receiving zone. It was early morning and the Jaffa were supposed to be asleep. But they were trained warriors and noticed even Xander's usual silent arrival.

Realizing who had arrived they were on their knees. But Xander put a stop to that, his rule was that you can bow if you must, but save kneeling for the Almighty.

* * *

Having met with the gang for breakfast at Giles and Jenny's, he decided to pop over to the SGC. Despite the happy greeting he got from the personnel he passed, Jack was a real surprise.

"My hero!" He cried as he leapt from his seat.

"Ok." Xander sighed as he plonked down in a chair. "What trouble have you gotten into now?"

"Hey!" Jack objected.

Xander just looked at him.

"Yeah, ok." Jack admitted. "We're stuck in a time loop and only Teal'c and I are aware of it."

"So that would make you Bill Murray?" Xander asked.

Jack glared at him. "That depends. Are suggesting Teal'c is Phil?"

Teal'c cleared his throat. "Having heard you make reference to Groundhog Day with regards to our situation, I have taken the liberty of watching the movie." He said with a pointed look.

"Oops." Jack said with a sheepish grin.

"See Jack. I've been here two minutes and you're in trouble again." Xander smirked.

"Yeah, yeah just get us out of this." Jack groused.

"Well, is this caused by technology or magic?"

"We don't know." Sam said in frustration.

"There was an Ancient's device on the planet we were due to visit today. It sent a bolt energy into the Stargate and then O'Neill and myself found ourselves repeating the day." Teal'c said.

"There is too much information for me to translate in each loop." Daniel explained.

Xander sighed. "Ok, and how long has this been going on for?"

Jack and Teal'c looked at each other. "About seven loops so far."

"And how many allies have you contacted?"

The look of embarrassment was a clear answer.

"Right. Let's start with the allies closest and with the best chance of helping." Xander said as he activated his comm. unit.

* * *

Willow, Buffy and Oz were seated in their Psych class when Willow and Buffy's communicators went off.

"I truly hope that that is someone's pacemaker malfunctioning and not a cell phone." Professor Walsh said tightly.

There was a slight giggle through the class, Willow and Buffy were desperately trying to shrink into their seats.

Oz was amused at this. Two powerful girls, quelled by an overbearing human.

Oz stood up indicating the girls should follow.

"Our apologies to the class and yourself." Oz said. "That was an emergency notification, so we will have to bail out early." He said politely.

"You should never have known there was an emergency as all cell phones and pagers should be turned off." She glared.

"We have special dispensation." Oz said as they headed down the stairs.

"Well, none of you will be disrupting this class again. I do not tolerate this kind of thing. Don't bother returning." She said angrily.

"Well, this was my last lesson." Oz said. "But the girls _will_ be back."

"Not if I have my way." Walsh declared.

"Then we have nothing to worry about." Oz grinned.

Walsh was as startled as her TA, Riley Finn, knew the two girls. He had met them after being assaulted by them in the library. Although sitting under heavy books was pretty much asking for trouble. They were both respectful girls. He'd met Oz too. A generally quiet student who was economical with words. He had great fun introducing Graham to them. Riley, Willow and Buffy had watched stunned as Graham and Oz exchanged a near monosyllabic conversation. Buffy was wondering what would happen if they threw Teal'c into the mix.

The following day was a shock for Riley when he had found Willow and Buffy staring at Graham and Oz having a lively and verbose debate.

Graham was often seen hanging around with the three students now.

Riley felt a little jealous at times, but curbed those thoughts when he remembered that he was also a TA, that tended to monopolize his time as much as his _other_ duties.

But here these three students were standing up to Professor Walsh. No mean feat. But he realized it must be a big emergency. He made a note to let Graham know about his friends, he didn't want him worrying.

Walsh on the other hand was livid. She had heard about the Mayor's involvement in the sacking of Professor Reegert. She was not so easy to deal with.

* * *

Buffy, Willow and Oz walked into the briefing room and were greeted by a rather worn looking Jack and Teal'c.

"What did you do?" Buffy asked Jack suspiciously.

Daniel, Sam, George and Xander fought valiantly to smother their chuckles. They failed.

Jack just slumped in his chair muttering.

"Apparently we are stuck in a time loop. Time is an element of the universe, figured you might have an insight oh Priestess of Gaia." Xander grinned at Willow. "And Buff, Daniel says he can't translate the language on the device they think caused this in time so I figured Beta could help out."

"And here I thought you wanted me." She pouted teasingly.

"And I guess Oz decided to tag along?" Xander asked.

"Yes, it was my last class. I'm dropping out, if I'm on SG1 I need to have more time free. I can always study part time on my own."

"I take it you weren't on this mission?" Xander asked.

"With Sam going for scientific research I wasn't really needed."

Within the hour Beta had translated the text. Sam now knew how to disable it and put time back on track.

SG1 went off to the planet to turn the device off. Encountering Malikai and his desperate plan on the way.

"It's about time!" Gaia complained as she appeared on the planet as the device powered down.

"You knew!" Jack asked in mock horror at the perceived betrayal.

"Of course I knew! But I was bound from doing anything, remember?"

"You could have said something." Jack groused.

"Which would have constituted doing something." Gaia said pointedly.

"Would Xander have been trapped in the loop?" Sam asked.

"No, he would remember like Jack and Teal'c." Gaia shook her head. "But he would not be physically reset like them either. He would just see the world change around him."

"Malikai, you have penance to work off. Do so and when you die you will be reunited with your wife." Gaia said. "For now, go with Daniel and his friends. They will explain. I'm off to see my husband." She grinned.

* * *

Xander got a little bit frustrated settling back in this time. When he went to hell, two thousand years had passed for him, but none for his friends. He had to relearn a few names and how to use a few bits of technology, but that was it. It all came back to him pretty quickly. But having spent less than ten minutes away this time, had resulted in several months passing for his friends. A _lot_ of things had happened. He couldn't just remember things, and little things would creep up on him.

Like Willow was kinda interested in this guy. The gang all seemed to like him. But he had no idea who this guy was. This resulted in an unusual meeting.

Willow and Buffy were seated with him and Oz outside the campus grounds. Buffy and Oz were snuggled up on one side and Willow was perched in Xander's lap. She was becoming intent on getting as much Xander contact as possible. She was fed up of him being absent. She was going to have get Gaia to put him on a leash.

Buffy was intently telling the story of how Professor Walsh was put in her place by Robert. Walsh had been livid, but even she had no power over them and their diplomatic powers.

"I just hope she grades us fairly." Buffy finished.

"Erm, Willow?" A male voice asked with some apprehension.

Willow sat up in Xander's lap and looked over his shoulder.

Willow's face lit up. "Graham!" She cried happily as she scrambled out of Xander's grasp.

Graham was looking confused and conflicted.

Oz took one look at that face and smirked. "Brother." He said pointing at Xander.

Graham visibly relaxed.

Willow smacked his chest playfully. "Getting all jealous are you?" She grinned.

"Well, you have to admit, it didn't look… good from my position." He said apologetically.

"Which is why I won't hold it against you." She said kissing his cheek.

Xander stood up and faced Graham with a smile and an out stretched hand.

"Xander, and I'm not her real brother, we just grew up together. But I'm married, so you know, off the market." He grinned.

Graham took his hand and had a look as if trying to place him. "Gaia's husband?"

"That's right." Xander said.

"Have a good trip?" Graham asked politely.

The cover story was that Xander had to go for a meeting in Washington. All part of his diplomatic cover and work with the military.

"Very boring." Xander said honestly. "A bit annoying too. A lot has happened since I left and I am playing catch up."

"Yeah, it's the same for a lot us who come in from out of town. We go home for the holidays and find the world has turned without us." Graham said.

"Huh, I never thought of that." Buffy said.

"Me neither." Xander agreed.

The afternoon passed in amiable chit chat. The topics were highly censored though due to Graham's presence.

Xander headed off home. He and Gaia stayed in a nice house in Sunnydale. It was easier for the Scoobies to live in the town as sometimes they had to have people over. It was hard to explain that they commuted every day from Colorado.

* * *

Early morning found the town in a panic, the town had lost its voice. Except Oz, Gaia and Xander. Gaia left for Colorado to spend the day with the kids. She explained that Giles and Buffy would have an explanation.

So Xander headed over to the students house first. Gave a quick explanation and then went straight to explain to Giles and Jenny. He also grabbed Robert. Between Giles' first-rate knowledge and Buffy's dreams they established the cause was a new enemy and who the enemy was.

"Ok, so Oz and I will have to keep silent whilst we are out." Xander sighed.

Using crude sign language and writing tools the Scoobies held up their end of the conversation.

Buffy asked 'why'.

"For starters, it might cause a bit of disturbance if people realize that Oz and I can still speak. Also we don't want to kill these guys till we can track them back to their hideout. Otherwise we might never find the box with the voices."

* * *

It was decided that the Jaffa would patrol with Willow. Buffy would patrol with Faith and Church.

Communications were to be done via a holographic keypad provided by Delta on each of the communicators: texting.

Willow and the Jaffa would maintain a close eye on the College Campus and Dorms.

Buffy, Faith and Church would keep an eye on the suburbs and Xander and Oz would free roam in animal form.

Xander soon found himself discreetly dispatching some sort of scout like demon that wore loose straight jackets whilst the Gentlemen floated behind them. He had spotted them from the air and decided to see what would happen if he eliminated the grunts.

The sudden and inexplicable deaths of the grunts caused the Gentlemen great consternation. They decided, after a silent debate, to return to their lair and consult their brothers. Xander watched under cloak and then alerted the others. Willow was closest with the Jaffa but the others weren't far behind. They were currently dealing with some encounters of their own. Humans could be very stupid in times of trouble.

Xander tracked them to a clock tower. He was soon joined by Oz and Willow. She had left the Jaffa to patrol the campus. Oz handed Willow a short sword and Zat from his armour's pack. She was to stay back though. What they didn't see was Graham, Riley and Forrest observing the three in surprise.

They didn't have much of a choice though. They had to go in and deal with the HST's before they lost them again. Riley led his team towards the unusual trio. Oz had banished his armour though before he had been spotted.

"Looks like we found your commandos Oz." Xander mused as he saw the three armed men approaching.

Riley pointed at Xander and then at his throat.

"Yes, I can speak, so can Oz." Xander smiled. "I assume you're here to stop the demons?"

Riley frowned but nodded.

Willow and Graham were exchanging a silent conversation. But there didn't seem to be any problems there.

"Ok, stay back and cover our backs. Graham, Willow is not a fighter so you keep an eye on her." Xander ordered.

Riley started gesticulating wildly. Xander definitely got the gist. Willow wondered if it was because of his abilities with languages.

"You are operating illegally. The President doesn't know who is here, but he is very worried. You will either follow orders or I will incapacitate you here and now." Xander growled.

Riley did not like this. These were civilians. They had no idea what was going on. Or did they? He knew Oz and Willow. Both were students, freshmen at that. But this Xander was built like a soldier. He might know something, but why wouldn't Walsh have told him?

Then there was the armour Oz was wearing. It was clearly military but without rank or insignia, it practically screamed 'black-ops'. But Oz clearly deferred to Xander.

He needed more info, so the best bet was to play along for now.

Riley nodded once.

Xander put Willow and Graham on guard duty outside. He had Riley and Forrest cover their flanks. Just before entering Xander turned to the three soldiers.

"Everything you see tonight, including our presence here, is classified. Speak of it without authorization and I have the authority to execute you where you stand." Xander said softly.

He waited for the three men to acknowledge his warning. They all believed he would do it. Even if he wasn't legit. Heading in the encountered a few more grunts. But Oz and Xander proceeded with swords to take them out silently. They proceeded up the stairs and discovering the Gentlemen took cover and hid to plan their next move.

Apparently they were harvesting hearts. Riley and his team didn't know this and looked a little green. Oz and Xander however were more intent on finding the box. Xander ordered Delta to begin searching. He eventually reported he had found the box.

Xander turned to Riley and Forrest and ordered them to stay put. He then backed out and went to get Willow.

"Wills, we found the box. I'm going to break it, then I want you to scream. The legend said it was a princess that screamed. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's the reason Gaia headed out of town."

Willow nodded and they quietly headed up the stairs with Graham bring up the rear.

Once they regrouped, Willow went and hid behind Oz knowing that she would be much safer there if things got dicey. Xander then signaled them to be ready but hold their fire until they were told to. Having received confirmation, Xander just stood up.

The three soldiers were gob smacked. Riley was reaching for Xander to pull him back but Xander was already moving.

"'scuse me gents." He said as he absently sliced his way through the grunts that swarmed him.

He reached the box and grabbed it, crushing it in his hand.

Instantly wisps of light flew out heading to the four mutes in the building and the rest into the town.

"Ok Wills, let 'er rip!" Xander called as he ignored the Gentlemen to focus on the grunts.

Willow screamed.

It was impressive.

Of course being frequently captured and not a fighter, she had plenty of practice.

The popping explosions of the Gentlemen's heads was not pretty. Especially as Xander seemed to have forgotten this fact and as he was standing in the middle of them… he got covered.

Xander sighed flicking bits of demon brains off of him. "Ok, guys you can finish off the remaining targets."

He was really wishing the soldiers weren't there. He could have used his armour and not be covered in demon brains.

The remaining demons were finished off by Oz and Willow. The soldiers seemed to only have a zat like weapon. Although Delta and O'Mally had reported that they didn't contain alien tech. More questions that needed answers as far as Xander was concerned.

"Who are you." Riley demanded as he pointed his weapon at Xander. "Our orders were to capture these demons for study. Not destroy them."

"I can guarantee you that your orders are invalid, possibly illegal. What's your rank and branch." Xander asked.

"Classified." Riley said. "And as I have no orders or information on you, and you weren't affected by these HST's, I'm going to have to assume you are an HST yourself."

"Erm… Riley-" Graham started.

"Stow it Graham. We have a serious security breach." Riley snapped.

"Yeah, but Riley-" Graham tried again.

"Not now! Just secure his weapons." Riley ordered.

"For gods sake Ri, turn around and see this." Forrest said with no little fear.

Riley glanced over his shoulder and saw a squad of men armed with weapons. All pointing them at him and his men.

"Oops, guess I left my communicator on." Willow grinned.

Xander smiled and snatched out grabbing the weapon from Riley's hands.

"Nice work Wills." Xander congratulated. "And can I say ouch! That scream was impressive."

"Agreed… but at least you weren't standing next to her." Oz moaned wiggling a finger in his ear.

"Sorry." She said worriedly.

"No worries, you saved the day." Oz assured her.

Xander turned to the Jaffa.

"Guys, take these three into custody. They are not authorized, so put them in holding back at your base." Xander ordered.

"Yes sir." They responded. They may wish to show him respect as befitting his station, but they knew when it was best to keep things low key so they forewent the bowing.

* * *

Xander headed off to see George. Unfortunately he was asleep, but agreed this was a big development. The pair went off to see the President and try and sort out this mess.

It was decided that the only way to get these men to talk was to show them that Xander's command was legit and that theirs wasn't. This meant dragging them before high ranking and well known military leaders.

Anything else would be dismissed as a ruse to trick the info from them.

Early the next morning Colonel O'Neill and Major Davis were escorting the three soldiers with Xander to Washington, Xander always wanted to travel on a private jet. He found it highly disappointing, he missed teleporting or flying as an eagle or with his angelic wings.

Representatives of the Joint Chiefs would be questioning them.

"Riley Finn, Forrest Gates and Graham Miller. US Army." Major Davis said as the high-ranking members of the three main branches of the US military sat for the hearing.

"Current assignment unknown. There is a literal black hole surrounding them. Not even a cover story."

"Gentlemen, you recognize me?" General Hartmen asked.

"Yes sir, we do." Riley answered.

"I am officially ordering you to divulge the nature and details of your operations in Sunnydale."

"Sir we have orders-"

"Son, Sunnydale is considered off limits. Nearly three years ago the President issued orders that Sunnydale was not to be touched and no operations would be carried out there. So there is nothing you can say about your 'orders' that will make them anymore legal."

Riley gulped. Illegal orders? Pretty much a career ender.

"Sir, we were recruited for the DRI, Demon Research Initiative. Our Operation in Sunnydale is codenamed The Initiative.

"Our standing orders are to capture and study the HST's for the purpose of military intelligence and research."

"Oh god." Hartmen groaned. "There are so many things wrong with what you just said. But let's start with what 'HST' stands for; its definition."

"HST – Hostile Sub-Terrestrial. Any creature that does not conform to known earth native norms. For instance, uncommon blood colour. Spitting venom. Humanoid egg layers."

"Damn. Lord Xander, I recommend you pull your men from Sunnydale immediately." General Brentwhist said. He was the head of the Air Force and had met Xander before.

"Sir, it maybe too late." Graham said. "We tracked the HS-Xander's men to their hideout. We identified unusual physiological readings off thermal vision. They were due to be captured tonight. We were counting on it for our rescue."

Xander immediately got on his comm.

"And the reason you decided to mention it now?" Jack asked sarcastically.

"It's becoming more and more obvious that our orders are invalid." Riley said ashamedly.

"And the part about capture and study didn't ring any sirens?" he said derisively.

"Easy Colonel, let's make sure we get a grip on Sunnydale before we start with the blame game. The last thing we need is problems with our allies." Brentwhist warned.

"Seems these Initiative soldiers aren't a match for my men." Xander grinned. "They have their attackers in custody and are awaiting orders.

"With permission General I'd like to assemble some of my men and to assist?" O'Neill said formerly.

"Granted. Lord Xander. This operation is considered illegal. We would ask that you try not to kill our men, but we won't argue. I'll be following the Colonel in. I hope I will be able to convince them to stand down." Hartmen asked.

"I intend to go in destroy any hostile demons and check for innocents and leave with them. I will return and keep an eye, covertly mind, till you arrive." Xander said with a small bow.

He grabbed Jack and vanished.

The three soldier just stared in shock.

"Gentlemen, I feel it prudent to remind you, that everything you see and hear is classified." Hartmen said with a dark smile.

* * *

Having dropped Jack off at the SGC, Xander went straight for his men. The attackers were bound and gagged lying on the floor in neat rows.

He was happily congratulating his men when he received the call.

Buffy was in trouble.

* * *

Buffy had been frantic that morning. An earthquake had struck and Buffy was having flashbacks to the Master.

After some investigations into recent deaths and events, they were able to look beyond the stated facts and determine that three demons intended to open the Hellmouth.

Buffy and Oz had gone hunting, Faith and Church would join them as soon as school let out.

Things had not gone well. Buffy and Oz had swept through the demons.

Apocalypse averted.

But the commandos had snuck behind them and zapped them.

Now they were being dragged through white corridors. Buffy was weak and Oz was out cold.

There was only one person left to help her.

Xander arrived in a blinding white light. He was clearly enraged. He didn't just have his armour on. He also had his wings out and was brighter than a spot light. With a quick spin, the soldiers were out. Each one hit by his out stretched wings.

"For this one, you get your own slot on the rescue board." Xander said as he calmed himself.

Buffy just rolled her eyes as she checked Oz. "They got us from behind. I think we got hit several times. Must have seen us take out some demons." Buffy explained.

"They're army. No one knows who ordered them here. They tried to capture the Jaffa. You still got Beta?"

Buffy checked her wrist. "Yep."

"Good, get Oz to Janet. Just in case. I'm going to go and deal with the demons they've been capturing."

"Why would they capture… never mind." She shuddered as she figured it out.

She grabbed Oz and called for a beam out.

They vanished in a flash of light.

Xander hid his wings and engaged his cloak. He then found the nearest computer and had Delta get a map.

Leaving Delta to have fun in the computer systems, Xander headed to the lower levels. He was very tempted to hit every guard and scientist he encountered. He managed to restrain himself.

There was an odd array of vampires and demons. There was also a Bracken demon. These army guys were definitely not scoring any points.

Xander called for Delta and had him unlock each cell separately. He killed the ones he normally would but left the Bracken.

There was one cell that confused him. A girl, about Buffy's age, blond hair. Not a demonic hair on her body. Xander shed his armour and cloak.

"Hi." He said as he crouched down next to her.

She was startled by his appearance.

"Easy, I'm here to get you out." Xander assured her.

She looked at his clothes. Casual jeans and a t-shirt. "Your n-n-not one of them?" She stuttered.

"The army guys? No!" Xander said seriously. "I was investigating them. We were questioning three of them in Washington. They revealed that they had captured some friends of mine and I came to get them out. Have these guys hurt you?" He asked worriedly.

"Not physically, I thought they might be trying to poison me though." She said as she nodded to the uneaten MRE.

"About 70% of the armed forces would agree with you." He muttered. "Any chance you're a witch?" He asked. He had been trying to figure out why she had been captured.

The girl looked very worried at that.

"Don't worry, my friend's a warlock." He assured her. "Another is a technopagan."

"What are you?" She asked. It wasn't a question that was asking 'If their warlocks and technopagans, what does that make you?' It was a question as if to say 'You have horns. What are you?'

"Picked up on that did you?" He grinned.

The girl nodded shyly.

"For now, lets just say I'm your personal Guardian Angel." He smiled. "My names Xander by the way."

"T-T-Tara." She managed.

"Well Tara, how about we get you and our friend over there out of here?"

"Please." She practically begged.

"Wait here a sec, I'll go wake him up."

"Barry!" She suddenly said. "His name is Barry."

"Cool."

Xander headed over to the opposite cell.

He shook the sleeping demon. "Hey, Barry. Rise and shine! It's time to bust outta this joint."

"Please… no more. Just let me be." He moaned as he woke.

This did not inspire Xander with confidence.

"No more tests. These guys are gonna pay for what they did to you." Xander growled.

"Wh-who are you?" He asked in pure fear.

"Names Xander. This is an illegal operation. Washington is sending people in now to deal with it. I'm here to clear out people like you. I can-"

"FREEZE!"

Xander rolled his eyes. He needed to have a word with Delta. The AI must have gotten distracted.

Xander slowly stood and turned around.

"I SAID FREEZE!" The soldier ordered. There were ten armed men. They were carrying standard weaponry this time.

"My name is Xander. I am here by authority of the President to shut down this illegal operation. Stand down or I will be forced to take you down." He said seriously.

"We have received no such information." The lead said snidely.

"You have now." Xander said calmly.

"Kid, they don't mess around. You might want to back down." Barry warned him as he huddled into a corner.

"Don't worry, I don't mess around either. The President is pissed." He said to the soldiers. "He left standing orders that no operations were to be carried out in Sunnydale. Period."

"What's your rank." The lead asked.

Xander slowly reached into his pocket and withdrew his ID. He tossed it to the lead.

"This is a diplomatic pass." He said. "You have no authority here."

"Technically, no. I was sent to free any innocents, like these two and my men. Also to dispose of any hostile demons. Washington has a team on the way. I suggest you call General Hartmen."

The lead looked around the cells. Each one held an inert dead body. Some of those things were really tough to capture with two teams. How had this kid done it by himself?

"We were warned that this is a silent op. No outside communications. Not even from the President."

"That's not what Riley Finn told us." Xander frowned.

"Stand down soldier." Jack said as he approached from behind. He had two teams with him. They had been tracking Xander since he arrived.

"Identify yourself." The lead said as his team swung around.

Xander grabbed Barry and teleported him out.

He then came back winking at a shocked Tara who had seen his vanishing act.

The soldiers were none the wiser.

"Colonel Jack O'Neill, United States Air Force. General Hartmen is on his way."

"Why would the Air Force have anything to do with an Army Op?" The lead asked.

"Because the Air Force works with the Sunnydale authorities by request. You are causing a real diplomatic mess." Jack snarled. "Xander, I'm assuming the young lady is with you, would you mind seeing her to safety?" He asked.

"Sure Jack." Xander made to move but the lead soldier turned on him.

One shot later and Xander was on the ground.

Tara screamed.

"This is an invisible op. There is no way anyone would no about it. Which means you are HST's trying to pull a fast one using that magic crap." The lead said.

"Congratulations. You just pissed off one of the most powerful beings in the Universe." Jack sighed as he lowered his gun and threw down a device.

A bubble shield was immediately erected over most of the SG teams and Tara. Those SG members caught outside quickly dived in.

The bubble shields and healing fields were two of the first bits of tech Xander had ordered the scientists to build. They would be great for battlefield medics.

Of course Jack's actions caused a barrage of bullets to bounce off the shield.

Jack just smirked and pointed over their shoulders.

The sight of a seven foot armoured figure glowing brightly with angelic wings was enough to leave the soldiers gaping. But only for a moment as Xander repeated his spinning move and knocked them out with his wings.

"Somebody get this one out of my sight before I do something I'll regret." Xander snarled as he toed the lead soldier.

Jack motioned for four of his team to secure the prisoners.

Xander banished his armour and wings and approached the cowering Tara.

"Y-y-you really are an angel?" She asked in awe.

"Yep. Come on, you're perfectly safe around these guys." He said. "I don't get it. I know you're a witch, but I don't sense any demonic energies around you. I have friends who do that and they have some of that energy."

"I practice earth m-m-magic. I worship Gaia." She said assertively.

"You know Gaia!" He said excitedly.

"Not personally." She frowned.

"Oh… would you like to?" He grinned.

Tara just stared at him like he was insane.

"Gaia!" He called out.

"Hey hun, problem?" Gaia asked as she appeared.

"Tara, this is Gaia. Goddess of the Earth… and the Universe. Gaia, meet-"

"Tara." She smiled. "I was wondering where you got to!"

"I thought you didn't know her?" Xander asked Tara.

"She doesn't. Yet." Gaia smiled. "I'll explain later. For now I'll take her and introduce her to the Scoobs. She and I have a lot to discuss."

"You can do that? You don't need me to-"

"Don't worry, Tara is a special case. Like you were." She assured him.

She grabbed Tara's hand and vanished out.

"What was that about?" Jack asked.

"Beats me. A thousand years and she still surprises me." He grinned.

"Come on, we need to secure the rest of the base. SG4, use zats to clear out the cells and dump these boys in there. We'll bring down anymore who decide to disobey a superior officer." Jack ordered.

"Superior?" Xander smirked.

"Shut up!" Jack cried in mock outrage.

* * *

A few choice orders over the speaker system and the majority of the Initiative personnel were assembled in a large cavernous room which held some sort of pit in the center.

The operating tables did not fill the SG teams with confidence.

Xander was personally bringing General Hartmen in. Using an unused office so no one saw him enter.

Hartmen stood on a staircase and addressed the assembled personnel.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. This operation is shutdown effective immediately under Presidential Orders. This is an illegal operation. You are all confined to base until further notice whilst investigations are carried out.

"In order to prevent anyone trying to take over or cover up from the outside, this command is now under the authority of Lord Xander." He pointed to the tall young man next to him.

"He outranks the Joint Chiefs and holds the Presidents ear. Not to mention the respect of the entire Pentagon.

"No orders are approved without his say so. If he doubts them he can call the President directly and instantly query them. So feel free to run them by him first anyway."

Xander turned away slightly as Delta silently and invisibly joined him.

"We have a problem." The AI informed him. "Whilst accessing the security systems I found a room with no records in the mainframe system. I investigated and found evidence and records in standalone machines of an experimental soldier being created. Part human, part demon and part cyborg."

"No sign of the experiment?"

"No, but it appears there may be a leak. There was an open handwritten journal on the desk. Today's entry stopped mid-sentence."

"Any idea who's journal?"

"Based on the data in the room and signature and handwriting analysis, a Doctor Margaret Walsh." Delta informed.

"Is she in this room?"

"Front row, third from the left."

Xander spied the woman who showed no obvious signs of worry. That was a clue in itself as all the other personnel were very worried. He had a quick conference with Jack and then whispered in the General's ear. Walsh was marched off to a secluded office.

"What was in room 314?" Jack asked as he sat on the table facing Walsh.

Xander was standing guard at the door. This would be his first chance at witnessing an interrogation.

"314?" She asked innocently.

"Don't think for a second that we are stupid and easy to fool. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. To be honest, I'd prefer the hard way. It's a hell of a lot quicker. Plus I won't have to listen to you try and lead us up the garden path." Jack said angrily.

That confused her. Wasn't the hard way supposed to be torture and pain? Wouldn't that take more effort.

"I'm a war survivor. I don't do torture. I will however kill you if I have to. Which is what the end result of the hard way will be for you." Jack said stonily as he read her face.

"A personal project." She stated simply.

"You enjoy spending your free time building creatures out of parts of humans and demons and throw a little computer in there?" Jack asked.

A quick flash of surprise crossed her face but she quickly hid it.

Jack decided to tackle another subject.

"Who gives orders around here?"

"I do." She said. "I am the director of this facility."

"And who do you report to?"

"No one."

That one caught Xander's attention. So far her answers had been half truths or partial truths. That one was a pure truth.

"Who originally authorized this project?" Xander asked.

"And just who are you?" She asked derisively.

He was younger than some of her men. Probably like her students.

"He's the one who gets to decide if you leave this room alive." Jack said. "Answer him."

"General Page." She said.

She was suddenly hit by an intense pain.

And passed out.

Jack looked at Xander questioningly as the young man holstered his Zat.

"She told the truth, but another half truth. My guess is she is the brains behind this operation now and knew she was doing so illegally. She'll continue to feed us half truths. We can get more out of her men." Xander said.

Jack shrugged. He was probably right. They could always wake her again.

"Until we know the location, purpose and capabilities of this cyborg, demon, human monster, I want her held off world."

"Your prison planet?" Jack asked, referring to the new location where the prisoners from Netu were held.

"For now. The United States is more than welcome to put her on trial, but I don't trust her on this planet." Xander said.

"I'll have her shipped out under sedation so she doesn't realize what's happened." Jack said.


	34. Chapter 34

The question became: what to do with the Initiative personnel? Most were soldiers, but the scientists were far worse than the ones that worked at the SGC. They had the worst superiority complex going.

Riley and his team were returned to the base, Riley was the ranking officer previously. General Hartmen had sent Colonel Simon Masterson to take control of the situation under Xander's supervision.

He seemed to be a serious man. Much like Robert. He was a stickler for the rules. But respected those who were above him and their orders, but not afraid to point out flaws in the orders. Masterson was fully briefed on Xander, Sunnydale and the SGC. His job was to run the base as a standard military base on US soil whilst leading the investigation with Xander.

Riley was his second, but the young soldier believed that even if they weren't to be capturing the HST's they should be out there killing them before they killed civilians.

"Lieutenant, this town is patrolled every night. It survived before you got here, it will survive after you leave." Masterson warned his subordinate as he and Xander briefed him on the current plan.

"Sir, with all due respect, I don't think a couple of kids with swords is going to cut it much longer."

Masterson had to chuckle at that. He had seen footage of Buffy, Faith and Oz in action. He had the tapes of Xander taking out the initiative soldiers in the holding area sitting on his desk for his review.

"How about five elite soldiers with access to the most sophisticated and advanced technology on the planet, backed up by equally impressive soldiers. Not to mention the fact that the elite soldiers have direct access to the President to request additional supplies and back up?"

Riley was a little taken aback by that. "Then what were Xander, Willow and Oz doing out last night?"

Xander sighed. Last night. His life moved so quickly at times. He made a promise to himself that he would take the gang on another vacation soon.

"_Lord_ Xander and _Lord_ Oz are two of the elite soldiers. Miss Rosenberg is…" He looked to Xander for an appropriate title.

"Rear Echelon Support." He shrugged. "Mainly intel and logistics."

"Lord Xander has agreed to explain most of his story. It is a lot to swallow, but the President and many, many, _many_ high ranking officers have backed it up." The Colonel explained. "Hopefully he will indulge us with a demonstration." He said smiling at Xander.

Xander chuckled. "I'm sure we can set something up." He turned to Riley. "Once the Colonel and I are happy that this base is secure, we will train you properly and have you join routine patrols. It will be search and destroy only. We do not experiment on enemy combatants." He growled.

"But they're just animals!" Riley protested.

"Tell that to Barry, the peaceful Bracken demon. He has family. Holds down a job, a good education." Xander said angrily.

"As you can see Lieutenant, your actions are based on false assumptions. You treated these people like the white man treated the black man of Africa." Masterson said in disgust. "I know for a fact that the Bracken demon begged for mercy as did the human girl, Tara. And why the hell would you pick up a regular human?" He demanded.

"Apparently she exhibited non-human abilities."

"If you and your men can't curb that train of thought, you will likely be reassigned or decommissioned." Masterson warned.

"Lord Xander, I'm going to have to ask you to introduce your people to these men and give them a proper briefing on Sunnydale." He said formerly.

"I will speak to them and make arrangements."

"Call it a night for now gentlemen. You have both been at this all night. It is now mid morning. We'll pick it up again tonight."

Riley stood and saluted.

"It's going to be a lot of work, and we're going to lose some of these men." Masterson sighed.

Xander moved from leaning against the wall behind the Colonels desk to the seat opposite that Riley had just vacated.

"Probably. But if that happens they are probably not military material. Would you really trust them with human POW's?"

"I'm scared to go through these files. No telling how many innocents they've experimented on." He said as he flicked the large pile on his desk.

"Have Giles help you. I'll also call in more help from the Council. We need plenty of people who know this field to help out."

Masterson nodded. "Ok, but not tonight. We mere humans need to sleep." He smirked.

* * *

Before anything else Xander wanted to check on Barry. Tara was in fine hands with Gaia, so he wasn't worried about her. Barry was fine. For some reason he and Jack were extolling the wonders of blue jello. Xander refused to get involved.

Having checked in with George he headed home to where he was told Buffy and Oz had headed.

On arriving in his and Gaia's front room, he was assaulted by a blond blur.

A quick check showed Buffy snuggled with Oz on the couch.

"Erm… Tara?" He asked.

"Thank you for saving me." Came the muffled response from his chest.

"No problem, I was in the neighborhood after all." He grinned down at the small woman.

"Is Barry ok?" She asked.

"He's fine. Having an exciting discussion with a friend of mine on the virtues of blue jello." He said rolling his eyes.

"Jack?" Oz asked.

Xander just nodded.

"Well, we had better get some nap time in before we go out for patrol." Buffy said as she dragged Oz to his feet.

"Yeah, you won't encounter any soldiers for a while. They are confined to base. But keep an eye out for some Frankenstein type monster out there. Some idiot named Margaret Walsh was piecing demon, human and machine together."

"Maggie Walsh!" Buffy asked in shock.

Xander shrugged.

"Huh, guess I can't feel bad about missing her class today." She grinned. "Oh, and tell her _she_ better have a good excuse for missing class. She has two arms, two legs and nothing else missing, so she had no excuse to miss it." She said snootily.

"Worse than Snyder?" He asked.

"Different." Oz corrected.

"Catch ya later!" Buffy said as they went out the front door.

"Take a seat Tara, relax." Gaia instructed.

"So, how did you know about Tara?" Xander asked his wife.

"I've been expecting her for as long as I've been waiting for you!" She declared.

Xander looked confused at that. He tried several times to form an appropriate question.

He settled for "Huh?"

"Tara is one of the first things to prepare you for your godhood." She said.

As always, the mention of his impending ascension caused him some apprehension.

Gaia ignored it.

"She is to be your priestess." She smiled triumphantly.

"She is?"

"I am?"

They asked together.

"Yep. She will eventually be able to call on your powers as Willow does mine. For now she will concentrate on calling my powers, but she is your priestess."

"Doesn't she get a choice?" Xander asked.

"Oh… right." She said blushing. She turned to Tara. "I'm sorry, I've been waiting for you since time began. Just not in the same way as Xander. I just assumed you'd want the job, I can't imagine anyone not wanting to be his priest or priestess."

Tara was just gaping.

"Hun, I think she's going to need a few more details. So am I come to think of it." He frowned.

"Priests and Priestesses are like our links to the people. You will still have the armies, but Tara would be the one to communicate our wishes and advice to leaders of the people."

"Like the Pope, Bishops and Priests?" Xander asked.

"Exactly." Gaia said. "During the second world war, Churchill consulted a preacher when he was unsure of something. It's common for holy men and women to hold positions in the courts of leaders."

"You want me to work in government?" Tara asked incredulously.

"Oh no!" Gaia laughed at the look of on Tara's face. "But definitely consult with them when necessary. Offer them moral advice."

"Why me?"

That was the big question that most people tended to ask.

"You are very pure. You are also a devoted practitioner of the magic of nature. Otherwise known as Earth Magic. I already have a Priestess, but when Xander becomes a god he will need one too. At that time we will be fully equal in responsibilities of the Universe." She said happily.

"Do lots of angels become gods?"

"Xander is the only one." Gaia said proudly.

"Have you told Willow she's immortal?" Xander asked pointedly, knowing how his wife tended to shy away from difficult topics.

Gaia just looked bashful and slightly ashamed.

Xander sighed and turned to explain to Tara. "Willow is Gaia's Priestess. Now Gaia says that you could be my Priestess. The thing is, I might not ascend to godhood for hundreds of years. Which means you would have to be immortal."

"Isn't he smart." Gaia preened.

"Yeah, yeah. You still need to go see Willow." He admonished.

"Fine, you two can talk and get to know each other." She said as she kissed Xander and vanished out.

Tara was looking nervous. "Are you two…?"

"Married." Xander smiled. "I take it you don't know about my history?"

"We were talking about the laryngitis episode and the military base." Tara said.

"Right, well, don't worry about the military base. It's now completely under my control by Presidential order." Xander assured her.

"You know the President?" She asked in awe.

Xander laughed. "Tara, I know God… the Creator! So do the others, you probably will too! Besides, if you become my Priestess you will likely meet the world leaders as well."

Tara paled at that.

"Don't worry, most of them are nice guys. The ones that might be a problem I'll send Oz with you. He is kinda like my General. My own Champion." Xander thought for a second. "Actually, if you do become my Priestess, I'll make sure you have a suitable guard anyway."

Apparently he wasn't helping matters as Tara was sinking further into her seat.

"Maybe I should tell you a little about myself and you'll see that we aren't so different." Xander said. He settled back into his chair and began his tale.

"I was born here in Sunnydale nineteen years ago…"

* * *

Xander spent the next week travelling back to the various alternate realities and making sure everything was progressing smoothly.

The first reality he had been too was doing exceptionally well. Teal'c had managed to capture several System Lords and was holding them and waiting for Xander to arrive on advice from Gaia.

The reality which had been over run by vampires was suffering badly. Anarchy still reigned as the humans hadn't managed to rebuild their governments.

This lead Xander back to Alternate Teal'c.

"I want you to assemble an army, as large as you deem appropriate to govern a planet like Earth. Also, you will need to find a suitable leader who can bring organization and stability to chaos." Xander explained.

"Of course My Lord." Teal'c said respectively. "It should not be a problem. I will create the army from the Serpent Guard as they have served you longer and their loyalty will be less questionable."

"Great. When they are ready, assemble them on as many ships as you require and call for me. I will need to transport them to another reality."

This surprised Teal'c greatly. "Really, My Lord? I did not think you took others across the borders since you arrived here."

"True, but this reality has been over run by monsters. I cleared out the monsters, but the humans are unable to cooperate to rebuild their society. People are dying and suffering and chaos reigns. I want to utilize the good work and progress you have made here and apply it to improving things there."

"Things will be ready tomorrow. Will you be able to bring them back and rotate them out?"

"Absolutely. You arrange that and call me at the appropriate times and I'll have them sorted." Xander assured him.

* * *

The sound of several people retching was actually something of a relief to Giles.

He had just finished his… lecture… on what really went on at night and the history of the world to the Initiative.

He had given his usual 'The world is older…' speech. But at the insistence of Jenny and the chorus of agreement from the Scoobies, he now had a visual section.

It included various recordings taken by Delta and the AI's. Images of vampires and demons that the gang had taken out.

Xander was standing behind the seated soldiers leaning against the railing of the pit where they had performed their experiments.

It was obvious that they bought the demon side of things. But very few believed the holy side. The disbelief seemed to be catching amongst them. Those that wavered soon followed those that scoffed.

"Xander, I believe it's time for you to give some proof?" Giles said questioningly.

Xander stood up and walked to Giles side. Several steps before he stopped he donned his armour, minus wings and glow, in mid stride.

There was a collective gasp a few muttered 'cools' and the sound of one or two chairs scuffing back slightly as the occupants tensed for action.

"My armour is real." Xander said loudly. "I was chosen after I attained my armour to be the Champion of Gaia. The Goddess of the Universe. Due to events that included over a thousand years in Hell, I was turned into an angel by the Almighty."

Here Xander gave off his glow and revealed his wings.

The mood of the personnel changed to awe and fear.

Xander gave them a few moments then lost the armour, keeping his glow and wings.

"Because of the horrors of Hell, I had to spend a thousand years in Heaven recovering. On my return I married my girlfriend. Gaia.

"Although I spent over two thousand years between Heaven and Hell, I was only gone from this world for a matter of minutes.

"The other important piece of information is that I am destined to become a god. Like Gaia. This may not happen for centuries. Only the Almighty knows."

Xander removed the glow and folded his wings behind him, but kept them visible.

Xander and Giles just stood there for about a minute. Letting the Initiative soldiers and scientists dwell on those facts.

* * *

Xander found himself standing in a large room with gray aligned demons around him and a frantic Cordelia shouting at him.

"DESTROY THE LIGHT!" She screamed.

Xander looked over to where she was pointing to see Doyle hanging from a giant glass structure that was beginning to glow. Xander simply shrugged, donned his armour, grabbed his battle rifle and started firing into the glowing glass object whilst avoiding Doyle.

The light quickly flickered out.

"What's he trying to do?" Xander asked Cordelia in a conspiratorial whisper.

Cordelia just growled. "That idiot decided to try and play the self-sacrificing hero! That light destroys humanity, he jumped on that to try and turn it off."

"Why not shoot it… like I did?"

"The Jaffa are outside with the guns trying to finish off the Scourge. They are the ones with the guns." Cordelia said in exasperation.

"Right, then the three of you have an appointment at the mountain for weapons training." Xander said firmly.

"A little help would be real nice about now!" Doyle cried out as he struggled to maintain his grip.

"Ha! Leave the bastard there, he had the gall to kiss me and then jump to his death!"

"Oh god… he didn't." Xander winced.

"Uh huh, and that's after he knocked out Liam to stop him jumping." She said indicating the currently inert champion.

"Everybody wants to play the hero." Xander sighed.

"Hey! I'll have you know that I had no intention of doing something so stupid." Cordelia huffed.

"HEEEEEELLLLPP!" Doyle screamed as he began to fall.

Only to find himself standing next to Cordelia.

Who promptly slapped his face and then began to snog the life out of him.

Xander decided to head outside and check on his boys.

"That's a lot of carnage." Xander remarked as he surveyed the dockyard outside the ship. Bullet riddled demon bodies littered the area.

"My Lord, it is good to see you." Rolan said with a bow as he approached. "Was there a problem?"

"Some guy and Liam were fighting over who should play sacrificial hero, Cordelia used her brain and called me in." He said with a roll of his eyes.

Rolan just chuckled. "Ah, Doyle. He is apparently a Seer sent by the Fallen. It was rather interesting when he met Lord Oz, he was under the impression that you would kill him on sight."

"Seriously? Is everyone like that?"

"It is hard to say, in order to maintain our secrecy, we keep our allegiance to you secret."

"Right, good plan. I take it this was a pathetic battle?" Xander asked as he took in the sight of the other Jaffa systematically vaporizing the various bodies with Zats.

"Indeed, My Lord. But we felt no qualms about their slaughter as they intended to destroy all demons with human blood and humanity itself, the demons inside the vessel were their current targets."

"Well that's just dumb. All demons in this dimension have some human blood in them. We learned that with the Mayor." Xander scoffed.

"Yes, but they seemed to know that and you had to be pretty close to the light for it to work." Liam explained as he walked down the gangway to where Xander and Rolan stood.

That confused Xander. "Then why did they hang the light bulb so high?"

"It was set to explode. I don't really know how it worked, probably something for your AI's to work on, I don't recommend letting the governments get their hands on it."

"Good plan. I might have Gary do it." Xander mused.

"I thought you said you didn't hate me!" Liam whined.

"Don't worry, I'll have them work on it on a remote planet somewhere. Something abandoned." Xander smirked.

Xander then noticed Cordelia dragging Doyle out of the ship.

"Dammit woman! Do you really want me dead that much!" He could be heard complaining as he struggled against Cordelia's grip.

"What's he worried about? Falling in the water?" Xander asked Rolan and Liam.

"No My Lord." Rolan chuckled. "He is under the impression that 'Lord Xander will kill him on sight just for being a demon'." He quoted.

"Oh god." Xander groaned. "Oi! Doyle!"

Doyle froze like a frightened bunny.

"I give you my word I have no intention of killing you." Xander called out.

"See!" Cordelia exclaimed. "Now… move it!" She said as she kicked his shin forcing him to hop in pain to keep up with her.

Eventually she had him down the plank and standing in front of Xander.

"Doyle, meet Xander Harris. Or Dufus." She snarked.

"Love you too Cordy." Xander sniped back.

"Ok, so why do you think I'm going to kill you just because you're a demon?" Xander asked.

"The Powers That Be told me! They showed me!" Doyle cried.

"Showed you?" Xander asked.

"He's a Seer, he gets visions… yes, yes, and great big honking migraines, we've heard it before." Cordelia said tiredly before Doyle could say it.

"What did they show you?" Xander asked with a frown.

"You… coming out of a hole in the ground that led to a place that means I try really hard not to sleep at night… and I drink _waaay_ too much.

"I saw you killing demons left right and centre in that place."

Xander's eyes widened in horror and he started swearing profusely.

"My Lord! What is it?" Rolan asked worriedly.

"Those bastards showed him Hell!" Xander raged.

"I thought seeing Hell or Heaven would drive anyone insane?" Cordelia asked.

"It will, but they probably removed everything but the visual side, he won't go insane, but he will never be the same again!" Xander was fuming.

"GOD!" Xander screamed to the Heavens.

"Peace my son." Came the deep tones of the Metatron as he and The Almighty appeared.

Everyone dropped to their knees, Cordelia dragged Doyle down but Liam threw himself down placing his face firmly into the concrete floor.

"Rise my children." She instructed through her Voice.

Xander rose, the Jaffa following suit. They stood to attention but with their heads bowed. Cordelia gave a happy little wave which She returned quickly and covertly.

Seeing Liam still with his face pasted to the floor, God walked over and picked him up.

"Liam, you are doing good work and are trying to make amends. I am proud of you, as is Hades. You do not need to fear me as long as you remain on this path."

She lifted his head to look into his eyes and smiled at him. Liam smiled through tears at the feeling of acceptance. Xander had confronted him soon after he had been returned to his body and asked him a simple question. "Are you a vampire with a soul forced upon him, or a human trapped in the body of the vampire?" He tried to remember that he was human, just encased in a corpse, the actual demon was no longer present. 'Angelus' was suffering eternity in Hell.

"Lord Xander, speak." God instructed.

"Almighty One, the Fallen have placed great torture on this Bracken demon called Doyle. They have assaulted him with images of my time in… Hell." Xander said formally, he still had trouble speaking about it like this, he could crack jokes, but he would always need to spend a bit of time in Heaven afterwards or curled up with Gaia, his own personal Heaven.

"Yes, why have you called me?" God asked, prodding him to get to his point.

"My Lord, I beg that you heal him of these images, they will likely drive him insane, and when he dies they will haunt him in the Underworld and taint the area."

God didn't need to be told this, She knew. But those around them did. They needed to understand why God intervening and healing Doyle was such a big deal.

God moved over to Doyle and caressed his face with a hand. Doyle slumped to the floor as Xander caught him.

"It is done." Came the Voice of God. "I have replaced the images with those that Jack saw in the library that day. He will know what has been done and why, but not what he saw."

She turned to Cordelia and smiled softly. "He is just sleeping now. Pleasant dreams of you."

Cordelia blushed and looked a little surprised.

"Let him sleep and rest as he has been without proper sleep for many months now."

With that, the Almighty and the Metatron both vanished.

"My Lord, might I be so bold as to make a suggestion?" Rolan asked with his head bowed.

"Rolan, please do."

"When young Doyle awakens, he will have questions. Perhaps time at the mountain where he can speak with SG1 and their mind healers… counselors. His visions are his duties and I believe that he can communicate them just as well over the comm lines as he can in person."

"A good suggestion. Rolan, I will leave this in your care. Make whatever arrangements you feel are necessary." Xander said with a proud smile that caused the Jaffa to stand straighter and prouder.

Xander didn't just delegate because he had too much to do, he did it because there were people better suited to a task than him. People who would benefit from the experience of performing the task.

It was why the Jaffa loved him.

* * *

Whatever had been in room 314 had vanished. Neither Oz nor Xander could track a scent. As a result Xander called in a second squad of Jaffa and Buffy and Willow would accompany one squad and Faith and Church the other.

Xander needed info on what Walsh was up to. Masterson was handling interviews and investigations in the base and Hartmen had initiated them starting at the Whitehouse. The President was adamant that no stone be left unturned. He had asked for the Tok'ra's help with those cleared to know about them. They would be tested using Anise's Zatarc detector.

It only took a day though. A General Barnes came forward voluntarily to be tested. Apparently he was responsible for initially setting up the operation years ago. But it was supposed to have been abandoned after the President's orders.

As it was a legitimate operation originally, the General had official files and records and this gave General Hartmen a good place to start.

The link to the Army would soon be found.

But Xander needed to find out about this experiment.

The notes and journals Delta had found were vague. Purposefully so, it seemed. Walsh was the only one who seemed to be involved and the one with all the information.

Xander had several options available to him for extracting the information. But he liked none of them.

His hand was forced when the experiment attacked the Initiative.

It made it through all the security measures. Disabling them, killing the guards. Fifteen men were killed on guard duty.

It then proceeded to systematically search the facility, killing or injuring any that stood in it's way. No one knew what it was looking for as it wasn't actually asking.

Masterson knew immediately this was beyond his control. He would be damned if he was going to put the Slayers in front of this monster. He called for Xander on what the angel amusingly referred to as his 'God Phone'.

Xander arrived to find the Colonel trying to staunch the blood flowing from a bullet wound in his leg.

"Whoa! What the hell happened?" Xander asked as he grabbed a nearby first aid kit off the wall and got to work.

"The experiment, I think it came back." He gasped. "Took out the guards and the security measures."

"Right, we planned for this." Xander said.

Masterson sighed, but nodded.

"Delta, initiate the evacuation." He turned to Masterson. "Leave the experiment to me." He said as the Colonel vanished in a flash of light.

"Evacuation complete." Delta reported.

"Great, now we just need a plan." Xander muttered.

"The being is partly machine. The Alpha and myself could conceivably perform an internal attack leaving it vulnerable to external attacks by yourself and Oz." Delta suggested.

"Ok, sounds like a plan. What about a back up?"

"Perhaps the SGC could be prepared to beam the entity into space, Willow could act as a back up method if the technological side fails."

"Ok, get Church, Willow and Oz, I'll call George, every time it tries to leave, beam it back to where it was, or try to."

* * *

Walsh's Frankenstein monster was sat in front of a computer terminal in room 314. It's birthplace, it hadn't moved in half an hour, the computer terminal had probably frozen and he had just killed technical support.

Oz, Xander and SG4 were hiding down the corridor, planning their next move. There had been some debate as to whether they should confront it first or just attack. Oz pointed out that it was killing indiscriminately. They couldn't take the risk it would bolt.

SG4 was in position keeping track of the doorway from afar. Room 314 led to a wide area, so they could stay well back. Oz and Xander were also far back to prevent the creature detecting them. They were unwilling to risk using their cloaks in case they were ineffective against the creature.

The plan was simple. Church and Delta would rush in and try to attack the mind. Then Oz and Xander would dive in and beat the ever-loving crap out of it.

Unfortunately it wasn't quite so simple. The entities mind was very complex. They not only had to deal with the machine and a demon, but multiple demons. Church had eventually perfected the art of stealing weapons from his targets mental representations.

He avoided ranged weapons and went straight for melee weapons. His aim was crap. End of story.

Willow had built automatic targeting sensors into his body. All he had to do was point and shoot. His hand would automatically compensate based on visual input.

They had some help from the human side of the mind. Apparently a victim of murder by Maggie Walsh. Whilst Church was busy lobbing mental grenades at the attacking constructs, Delta was grabbing all the information he could.

The human had one request.

"Kill me. I can't live like this." It pleaded.

"What the hell do you think we're trying to do?" Church screeched as he ducked incoming mental bullets. "A little help would be nice!"

"I'll try and take control, might give you some time to-"

Delta and Church suddenly found themselves standing over the body of the experiment.

"Erm… ew." Church commented as he surveyed the dismembered body.

Apparently Church and Oz had systematically removed limbs.

Oz was just about to plunge his plasma sword into the heart when Delta started shouting.

"NO! Nuclear heart!" He warned.

Oz paused the twin points of his sword just piercing the demonic skin of chest.

He calmly deactivated his sword and stepped back.

"Thanks for the warning." He said calmly.

Xander ran a quick scan of the corpse and made sure the heart wasn't going to blow soon. It appeared stable, so he called in SG4 to perform clean up, warning them of the dangers.

"The human part of the experiment was a man named James Barlow. A former Army Ranger. He was listed as AWOL. But Walsh killed him and used his body in her experiment. Completely unsanctioned. I have detailed records of what Walsh was doing. It seems she had ordered 'Adam' as he was named to free her from holding after he had ensured a safe location." Delta reported.

"Who was she reporting to?" Oz asked.

"No one. She was a genius; she managed to orchestrate most of this herself. A good deal of it was setup already by the legitimate orders prior to the Presidential Orders. She merely capitalized on it."

"General Hartmen will be pleased. No one likes to find a rat in their backyard." Xander said darkly.

* * *

Masterson was soon up and about. His clearance granted him access to healing from the Tok'ra. The SGC had arranged for someone to be on hand permanently. Explaining what had happened at the base to the rest of the Initiative was solved with one word.

Classified.

Xander spoke with the President and General Hartmen about keeping the Initiative in Sunnydale with permission. They would provide extra back up in the event of an attempt to open the Hellmouth. The President was all for it as it freed up the SGC to focus on the Goa'uld.

But General Hartmen insisted the men assigned would require briefing on the Stargate and training by SGC personnel. For starters he wanted to equip them with the latest weaponry and armour. Which meant explaining why the Air Force was producing ODST Video Game Armour and where the Zats and Staff weapons came from.

But as Xander intended to keep using Jaffa in Sunnydale, he wanted his men to know they weren't demons as they would eventually notice something different about them. Both the President and Xander were all for this. Both men were in support of anything that kept their men alive. The ODST VISOR system was ideal for nighttime work.

But it was Jeff, the Coroner, brought something to Xander and Robert's attention that had Xander starting to worry.

"I had one vamp." He told them. "In the past three months."

This was a shocker.

"I thought the numbers were higher?" Xander said. "The Scoobs and Jaffa patrol can't have got them all."

"I checked, they haven't." He told them flatly. "They aren't coming to Sunnydale anymore. Deaths by animal attack have risen in the surrounding towns."

"Damn." Robert muttered. "We don't have jurisdiction there."

"Wouldn't matter." Xander sighed. "If we had a military presence in every town we'd wind up with all manner of political opposition. We'd never keep it quiet."

"That doesn't even take into account the threats we'll get from places like the Middle East." Robert added.

"What about more people like me?" Jeff asked. "Civilian coroners and police who are informed. Not to mention local government like Robert."

"We'd need to plan and prepare for how the vamps will react." Robert mused. "Once the smaller towns are inaccessible, they'll try and hide in the cities."

"Urgh, Urban Warfare." Xander said with disgust. "Liam and his team are still handling things just one case at a time. LA is huge, they can't handle it on their own, they do have a contact in the police department, she isn't aware of the supernatural yet."

"Can't you talk to the President? Have him set up a government task force within the FBI or something?" Jeff asked.

"I'm sure Liam would love being called Mulder." Xander snickered.

"As long as no one calls Cordy, 'Scully'." Robert said.

They all shuddered as they imagined the ass ripping Cordelia would give the first person to make that analogy.

"Well, it's worth a shot. I'll make an appointment to see the President when he gets back." Xander said. "In the meantime, I'll send the Scoobs and Jaffa squad to the surrounding towns, the Initiative will handle Sunnydale."

The President was doing scheduled international visits, but it wasn't a problem for Xander to pop over and have a chat. Calls were made and plans were put into action for a new government division to be put into action.

Xander however received a desperate plea from Jack.

"Please tell me you have your new team system set up!" He begged.

"Nothing yet, still planning." Xander shrugged trying to figure out the harassed look in Jack's eye.

"Sam is going nuts. I think she's getting cabin fever!" He said with agitation.

"Doesn't she go out on science missions?" Xander asked.

"She misses the action. Especially with Oz basically replacing her." Jack explained.

"Ok… look, we've got major problems and revelations back in Sunnydale at the moment. I need to sort them out first. Give me a couple of weeks to months and if we haven't got started on the new teams I'll request SG1 as my personal team and Sam as my science advisor.

"She's not dating me, so it shouldn't be a problem for her to be under my command. Can you handle being under my command?" He asked warily.

"Xander, you're a literal Angel. You are favoured by the Almighty and can kick my ass to Hell and back if you choose to. I have absolutely _no_ problems following your command." Jack said seriously. "Besides, you're what, over two thousand years older than me?" He grinned.

Xander had managed to gain tentative permission to seed the surrounding towns with Jaffa. They would be eventually replaced with teams created by the new government agency. For now Buffy, Faith, Willow and Church spent their nights patrolling a specific town. Once it had been sufficiently cleared they would move onto the next town.

* * *

Tara was still contemplating the offer of being Xander's priestess. It had been two weeks since her rescue. She knew exactly what Xander was having seen him in action. Gaia had sent her to talk to Willow. Willow was still giving Gaia the evil eye every now and again for not telling her she was immortal now.

Despite this, Willow had nothing but good things to say about Gaia and Xander.

"What's the real problem?" Willow asked the shy blond.

"I… it feels like she's not telling me something." Tara said frowning.

Willow snorted a laugh. "Yeah, I wouldn't put it past her." She snarked. "The thing is, I doubt it would be harmful. She wouldn't do that, Xander certainly wouldn't stand for it."

Tara looked at Willow in confusion. "Why do you not like being immortal?"

Willow sighed. It was not something that the average mortal would consider a bad thing. But she had more experience and knowledge than that.

"You will be hard pressed to find a Scooby, or any of Xander's friends who fears death. Dying maybe. But not death. To be honest, a lot of us look forward to it. We know Hades is a good person. We may even get a shot at Heaven. But… as an immortal… I may never get that. To spend my afterlife just hanging out with Buffy and Jesse and the others. I am destined to work and fight for a long time." She sighed. "You would be too. Not fight, maybe. But work, yes."

"Is it really that good?" She asked in awe.

"You've yet to meet God, but when you do, you'll be very happy and content. Unless she gets angry. Doesn't happen often, but it does happen. When you do, meet her, imagine what it would be like to spend eternity in her presence."

Tara considered this. She realized she might not understand until she met God.

Willow eyed her new friend. She could see the turmoil, the desire to make the right decision for the right reason.

"Xander? You got a minute?" She called out. "Let's see if we can't get some answers." She grinned at Tara.

Tara just seemed to shrink in her chair.

"Hey Wills. Tara! Good to see ya!" Xander said happily. "What's the what?" He quipped.

"Hoping you could give us some answers, also wondering if God is available for a chat?" Willow asked.

"I'm always game for a chat Willow." God said as she appeared in the armchair opposite.

Willow's eyebrows hit the roof. "I can hear you? I'm not dead?" She said in disbelief.

God just giggled. "It's only mortals that can't withstand the power of my voice. You and Tara are both immortal. Oz can hear me too."

"B-b-but…" Tara stammered.

"I already know what you will choose. It's who you are. But you are right, there are some things Gaia didn't tell you. Or Xander." She said dragging the young angel to sit next to her as the single seater armchair expanded to accommodate him.

"That sounds ominous." Xander frowned. "Why do I get the feeling I will need to have a word with my wife?"

"Because you're a smart angel. Now, first thing I need to do is allay your fears about immortality." She said leaning forward. "You're existence in this world will end, you just might not end it by dying. You have both earned and are assured your place in heaven. It just won't happen for a _very_ long time."

Willow was bouncing in her seat at this.

"Besides, you can always visit the Underworld and see Jesse and the others by getting Xander, Gaia or Hades to take you." God said.

Willow looked expectantly at Xander. "Don't worry Wills, I'll talk to Gaia. She can take you as part of making it up to me for not giving me all the details about Tara. We'll figure some way for her to make it up to Tara."

"Th-th-that's not neccess-ss-ssary." Tara said hastily.

"Don't worry Tara. You are among friends. The only time you need to worry about propriety is when I appear in front of regular humans. Like world leaders or civilians. Then, part of your duties will be to lead them in kneeling." God explained.

Tara found it slightly strange that she _didn't_ find it strange that she should be kneeling now.

"Like I said, amongst friends, so it's not necessary." She smiled. "Now then, let's get your wife in here to make with the explanations." God grinned mischievously.

"Hi honey." Xander grinned as Gaia suddenly found herself standing in Willow's living room.

"What… why…" She saw God and sighed. "Do I have to?" She whined.

Tara and Willow just giggled. As Xander smirked.

"Yes you do young lady!" God said standing up and wagging a finger at her. "She is already immortal and you know as well as I do that she will eventually- well, never mind, explain and then we'll talk Tara through it." She said, she seemed to catch herself mid sentence. Xander had learnt long ago that God was very good at acting human and faking slip ups.

Gaia sulked for a second. She then drew in a breath and squared her shoulders before sitting gracefully next to Tara as Willow vacated her seat.

"Tara, you are destined to be Xander's wife."

"WHAT!" Xander said panicking.

"Oh for the love of me!" God groaned. "No Xander, Gaia isn't leaving you. You have all the rights of a god, just not the official status or power yet. You are entitled to more than one wife. Hades has hundreds. Mortal women he met on Earth or in the Underworld and fell in love with. You've met most of them. You don't think that just because Earth civilizations decided to limit it to one wife to a husband, Heaven did? Go back and read the Book! People have had polygamous marriages since before Noah."

"I just thought it was a quirk of Hades!" Xander said still panicking. "Gaia doesn't, she only has me!"

"Yes, which was her choice. You on the other hand will eventually choose a second wife. Someone that Gaia adores greatly." God said soothingly.

"I will?" He asked incredulously.

"Yes. Now, relax. You're beginning to glow." God admonished slightly.

Xander took a deep breath. He breathed in and out a few times and looked at Gaia, who looked very ashamed.

"You're seriously not going to leave me?" He asked worriedly.

Gaia looked shocked then rushed over and hugged him tightly. "Is that what you were worried about?" She asked. "You and I will always be together. But so will you and Tara."

God had dropped down next a dazed Tara. "Hey, it's a good thing." She said pulling her into a hug.

"But-but-but-"

"Yes, I know all about that." She said looking the young woman straight in the eye. "Trust the Scoobies. They will happily sort that problem out for you when the need arises." She smirked.

Neither Willow nor Xander commented on God's cryptic comments as they knew they'd find out when the time was right.

"Xander, why don't you take Tara out on a few dates?" Willow suggested from the armchair which had resized itself to normal. "Get to know each other better. Oh! Show her other planets!" She said excitedly.

"Sounds good to me?" Xander said turning to Tara. "What do you say? Would you go on a date with me?" He asked sheepishly.

Tara looked between God and Gaia. Both of who were smiling encouragingly. Willow was just bouncing in her chair trying to contain herself.

"Ok, wh-wh-who am I to argue with God?" She said with a small smile.

Xander grinned as Willow gave a triumphant 'yes'.

"Can I just say that this really ranks as one of the weirder things I've done? Asking a girl on a date basically because my wife told me too."

"This from the man who walked through Hell and back?" Willow said with a raised eyebrow.

"What about the fact that I'm the one who convinced the girl to say yes?" God teased.

"Trust, me. Those things seem natural to me. Things that needed to be done, in a sense. For me, this is weird. I'm sure Tara finds it weird that God told her to date a married angel!" He said.

Tara just nodded vigorously.


	35. Chapter 35

Over the next few weeks, Xander took Tara on a few dates. Mainly to restaurants and such that a normal Earth couple would do. He also took her on a few trips to visit his friends and allies. He was quite excited to introduce Tara to Tonane and Lya.

He felt a lot of sadness at not being able to share this with Martouf, but Lantesh had been saved, and Xander was able to communicate with the unblended Tok'ra whilst he survived in a jar.

Tara found Xander to be cute and funny. She could tell that she could eventually fall for him. But knew it might not happen for a while.

She still had trouble with the idea of dating another mans wife. Xander brought this up with each of his offworld friends he took her to, so she could get another cultures opinion.

He also made sure she spent plenty of time with Gaia.

He got a desperate call from Oz whilst visiting Tonane, but Tara was happy to stay and talk with the jovial man.

Xander arrived in full armour to find Oz strapped down on a table. He was naked and wide awake.

And about to be cut open.

Xander was furious.

None of the three men and two women survived the fifteen seconds after he arrived.

"Oz you ok?" Xander asked as he sliced through the metal restraints.

"Yeah, a bit rattled but-" Oz rolled off the table and threw up. Xander banished his armour and went round and gently rubbed his friends back to ease him through it.

"S-s-sorry, guess I was more rattled than I thought." Oz rasped, his throat now sore but healing.

"Let me get you home, I'll go and get the others." Xander said.

"No!" Oz said vehemently. "No, I-I need to do this."

Xander nodded slowly. "Where's your sword and gear?"

"No idea, they surprised us, I woke up on the table."

Xander summoned his armour and Oz removed one of the spare uniforms from his backpack. Oz always wore the ODST armour through the gate. He only activated his Spartan armour as needed. Once he was ready, Xander grabbed Oz's shoulder and they teleported to Jack's location.

They didn't wait or explain. Xander just reached out for Jack and Sam's shoulder as Oz grabbed Xander's shoulder and they teleported to Daniel where Oz grabbed Daniel's shoulder. Then they were off to Teal'c.

Teal'c was in a similar situation to Oz. Strapped down to a table. At least Teal'c appeared to be unconscious.

"Who are you!" Jack demanded angrily, he was still trying get his bearings after being teleported several times.

"Xander and Oz." Xander said carefully. "We're your friends and colleagues, remember? From Earth."

"I-I've… never seen you." Jack said somewhat confused.

"Earth… that sounds familiar." Sam said.

"You do remind me of someone." Daniel said.

"Do you remember Sha're?" Oz asked.

"I… feel like I should." Daniel allowed.

"Ok, first things first. Delta, find out what you can, including what's up with Teal'c and where Oz's sword is." Xander ordered.

"Put out a call to O'Mally, he's been hopping around with Jack." Oz suggested.

"He has?" Xander asked as the three human members of SG1 gasped as Delta's ethereal form appeared and then vanished into a computer terminal.

"He wanted more action. I kept stopping him from blowing things up."

Xander looked at Jack. "Good choice." He grinned.

"I know what that was." Jack said pointing to where Delta vanished.

"Xan, show 'em the wings. Might help the memories come back faster." Oz suggested.

Sam, Jack and Daniel were suddenly blinded as Xander released his full heavenly presence into the room.

"Xander!" Sam cried as she hugged the angel.

"Oh, thank you." Jack said sincerely looking to the heavenward.

"How long have we been down here?" Daniel asked.

"Only a day or so. We were ambushed and I woke up to them about to cut me open, so I called Xander." Oz assured them.

"Teal'c!" Jack said as he noticed the inert Jaffa.

"My sensors say he's fine, just in kel'no'reem." Xander assured them. "And he's just woken up. Talk about great timing."

"Actually, I believe your light speeds our recovery." Teal'c said with a slight smile as he sat up as Xander cut the restraints.

"Ok, we're just waiting for Delta to find your gear, Oz's sword and O'Mally." Xander said. "Sam, as soon as we get back I'm switching Oz out for myself, so you'll be coming as my personal science advisor. To be honest, I should never have taken Oz from Earth. His place is with the Slayers."

"Yeah, but they had you and we needed a fourth." Jack argued.

"Still, it's a matter of my having removed Oz from his duties. From now on I'll be leaving all supernatural matters to Oz, he can call me for the big things, like when he needs the extra man power, but it's going to be his responsibilities for… now on, so I need to leave it to him."

"Gee, thanks." Oz said dryly.

"Don't worry, we all need a vacation, I'll swap out now and again so you can take time off." Xander grinned.

"Can't you just will the sword to you?" Daniel asked, interrupting the conversation and desperately wanting to get back to his now remembered wife and son.

"I don't think that's one of the powers, I have tried though. Xan, it was your sword… can't you treat it like a person or place?" Oz asked.

"Never thought to try… but I can move to ships. Be right back."

Xander vanished and reappeared with SG1's gear. "Unguarded storage room." He shrugged as he handed out the gear.

Oz eagerly took his sword and summoned his Spartan armour.

There was an audible growl from inside the suit.

Oz sank to one knee. "My Lord, I request permission to seize this planet and it's people in your name. They enslave those they consider less than themselves, so that the few may live in luxury."

Xander, who was still glowing, glowed much brighter.

"As a representative from Earth, and a victim of these people, I can confirm Lord Oz's words. They enslaved myself, Daniel and Sam and experimented on Oz and Teal'c. If nothing else, the slaves must be freed." Jack said just as formally.

This time Xander growled. "Very well. Lord Oz, your final duty offworld is to secure this planet and it's people. Be sure to manage your anger. We must make sure that if the regular citizens are not party to the slavery, they are not penalised unjustly."

"I understand." Oz said.

"I will inform George of the situation and arrange a few ships to come and aid you." Xander said as he vanished. Only this time there was a brilliant flash. A testament to Xander's anger.

* * *

Tonane and Tara were wandering through the forest. Xe'ls had joined them in his humanoid form.

They were in a deep discussion about Tonane's beliefs. It appeared that Xe'ls and his people had kept them fresh and not allowed them to become distorted.

There was a sudden flash and the three ramblers shielded their eyes.

"Xander my friend, you do not usually make such a show when you appear!" Tonane remarked.

"You are aware you are glowing Lord Xander?" Xe'ls asked carefully.

Xander took a quick look and realised he was wings out and shining enough to light up Sunnydale at night.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't realise." He said as hid his wings and glow.

"I-I-Is something wrong?" Tara asked worriedly. It was quite clear that Xander was looking stressed.

"I'm really sorry, I got an emergency call on the God Phone. I found Oz strapped to a table and about to be cut open.

"They had wiped SG1's memories and turned them into slaves. It's not my best day." He said as he plopped onto the ground wearily.

The three others looked at each other and settled around him forming a sort of circle.

"But why does this particular day trouble you so?" Tonane asked.

"I guess… I guess because of how I found Oz. He's like my brother. I haven't had anyone like that since Jesse died. I realised how close I came to losing him from my side." Xander said as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Willow said the Scoobies don't fear death, they know that something better awaits them." Tara reminded him.

Xander smiled at her sadly. "Absolutely true. But we will miss them on this plane. When Tonane and Xe-ls pass on, we can still visit them in the Underworld or even Heaven. But their counsel and presence beside us will be lost to us here."

"And you worry about losing Oz's partnership in the battles." Xe-ls said with understanding.

Xander nodded sadly, wiping his cheek.

"But that is why we have more than one friend, more than one family member. It is why we have children. So we will never be alone. When a loved one moves onto the next life, we come together to help each other fill the space that was left." Tonane said.

"Oh!" Tara suddenly put a hand to her lips in realisation.

"You ok?" Xander asked worriedly.

"I-I think so. Can you call Gaia?" She asked.

Xander smirked. "I could, but why don't you try it?"

Tara frowned at him slightly. "GAIA!"

"FYI, it's intent, not volume that calls us." Xander said as he wiggled a finger in his ear.

"Xander prefers less volume due to his overly sensitive hearing as well." Gaia said as she appeared as part of their circle. "So, you called? Future sister-wife?" She grinned cheekily.

"Willow said you and Xander couldn't have kids until he reached g-g-odhood. C-c-can he and I h-h-have kids?"

This peaked Xander's curiosity so he turned to his current wife.

Gaia began squirming.

"Ok, I'm guessing the answer is yes." Xander mused. Gaia nodded somewhat shamefaced. Xander turned back to Tara. "What made you ask?"

"Tonane mentioned one of the reasons for having children was for when our friends move on or we move on. They help fill the gap. You can't have children with Gaia yet, so I gu-gu-figured that might be something I was supposed to do."

The look on Gaia's face clearly said Tara had hit the nail squarely on the head.

"Gaia, I love you. You're a wonderful goddess… but you suck at this sort of thing. I recommend you run this sort of thing by Tara and myself in the future… especially if you have revelations about our future children." He said with a chuckle as he kissed Gaia's cheek.

"I just didn't want you to feel pressured. You're gonna have enough stress with being Xander's priestess." Gaia told Tara apologetically.

"I t-t-think I'd rather kn-kn-know." Tara said assertively… or as assertively as she could.

"Ok, well, we have a very long time in which we can discuss this." Xander said as he stood up. "I need to get back to the SGC and tell George what's going on. I was hoping Tara would come with me and actually see us in minor action?" He asked the shy blond.

"Will there be f-f-fighting?" She asked nervously.

"Nope, any fighting and Delta will beam you straight to the safest people. So either Buffy and the gang or Joyce and Sha're." He assured her.

"Ok then." She said with a smile. Then she and Xander vanished out.

Tonane turned to Gaia with a smirk on his face. "So, oh wise and un-ageing deity of the Universe, do you think your little omission will do its job?"

Gaia just gave him the evil eye… then shrugged with a smirk. "They seemed to bond over my 'mistakes'. Xander has already ordered me to take Tara to places and introduce her to our friends. We're going to have so much fun together!" She squealed.

"You like to play a risky game Gaia. But, as I said, you are the wise one." Tonane sighed smiling.

"I do not understand?" Xe-ls asked in confusion.

"Come my friend, I will tell you as we walk to the village about how women can be very manipulative." Tonane said leading his spirit friend away.

There was an indignant "Hey!" From the aforementioned goddess.

* * *

"How long do you expect the operation to take, Colonel?" George asked his 2IC over the holographic link.

He, Xander and young Tara were seated in the briefing room whilst Jack updated them on the situation with the planet that enslaved them.

"Not long. Maybe two weeks tops. We intend to move the slaves to another planet where they can build their own lives. Oz is arranging a Jaffa government for them and going to explain what it means to be under your rule." He said, implicitly requesting approval.

"That's fine Jack. Oz has my full authority and backing in this." Xander assured him.

"I figured, but always best to make sure, at least that's what Oz said. Personally I'd like to shoot that bastard administrator and be done with it." Jack groused.

"Lets try and avoid that if possible, Colonel." George winced.

"Don't worry Jack, I intend to see that he at the very least spends the rest of his life on the prison planet." Xander assured him.

"Ok, so we figure it won't take a week to put Sam's changes in. The Jaffa Sayel sent are smart fella's, they pick up how this stuff works pretty well, so that last week is just Sam bringing them up to speed."

"Jack, has Sam had a rest yet?" Xander asked.

"No!" He complained. "Can you do something about that?"

"I can, hold on one sec." Xander turned to Tara. "Would you like to come with me and see my guys in action? They'd love to see you. I was thinking we could cover for Jack and the others whilst they take the night off."

"What about sleep?" She asked. It was late afternoon in Colorado, she was personally working her way into evening.

"The Jaffa always have the high quarters of every ship ready for me. They really hope I'll come along. You can sleep there if you like. Trust me very luscious." Xander said.

"I believe the word you're looking for is 'opulent'." George offered with a smile.

"Just so you know, there are several Jaffa ears around me that have perked up at the possibility of having their Lord Xander and his High Priestess onboard." Jack chipped in.

Jack was suddenly shoved out the way and a familiar smiling face appeared. "My Lord! You have a High Priestess?"

"Ma'al! I didn't know you were the one sent to help keep Jack in line." Xander grinned.

"Hey!" Jack moaned off screen.

"My Lady, we would be most honoured to have you onboard." Ma'al said happily.

"O-o-ok." She consented warily.

"We shall have a celebration feast!" Ma'al said jubilantly. "We-"

"Whoa! Ma'al, Tara's a little shy and new to all this. We need to keep it low key." Xander said noticing Tara slowly seemingly sinking beneath the table.

"Oh, of course. I will meet you myself and inform the men of the situation. You will be treated with nothing but respect My Lady. You need have no fear." He assured her kindly.

"Th-th-thank you." She said quietly.

"We should be there within the hour."

"Of course My Lord." Ma'al cut the connection.

"Why did he call me 'My Lady'?" Tara asked.

"It's how they show respect. Xander has always been like a god to them. He made sure they knew he wasn't. But they respected him like one." George smiled. "Because of your position as his Priestess, they will want to show you great respect too. When they find out you are also to become Xander's wife… an entire sector of the galaxy will declare a public holiday." He chuckled.

"All because we're getting m-m-married?" She asked in shock.

George realised she didn't actually understand. "Xander, why don't you go and bugger off for a bit, Tara and I can discuss you for a bit."

Xander chuckled. "'Bugger off'? You've been spending too much time with Giles. Call out when you're done."

Xander vanished.

"Come on, let's sit comfortably, there's a couch in my office." George said as he stood.

Once they were settled, George began. "For the Jaffa like Ma'al, Xander freed them from slavery. Imagine suffering what you went through at the Initiative for hundreds of generations.

"Xander hasn't just freed them from that slavery, he has allowed them to use him as their leader. He could have just left them. But they might have had to deal with internal power struggles.

"But Xander ensures that every Jaffa is well treated. He holds the Jaffa's honour very high. He does not hold the sins of one Jaffa over their family.

"Whenever a Jaffa dies in combat, he visits the grieving family. They absolutely adore him. His happiness is their one desire. Because they know, without a doubt, that he will care for their happiness. They will see any addition to Xander's family as a cause for great happiness. So, no, I wasn't entirely joking about them declaring a national holiday."

"But, what about the fighting? The battles? He uses the Jaffa to fight battles." She asked, not judging, just trying to understand.

"There is not a single Jaffa in his armies that does not want to be there. When he first frees them, he gives them the option to leave the armies and return home to support their families and the Jaffa people from there.

"They know full well how powerful Xander is. The date he went to hell and returned an angel, is actually one of their holidays now. It was probably the first time Sayel refused Xander's order. Xander didn't want a fuss, but Sayel said the people would want it. Needless to say Xander got a slap round the back of the head when God turned up to support Sayel." He chuckled.

Tara sighed. "A lot of this still confuses me." She admitted.

"Truth is, it always will. Xander still get's in trouble and confused by things that happen. One of the first things Gaia ever told us is that she finds it really annoying when you ask God about something and she kisses your cheek, pats you on the head and says 'Don't worry about it.'"

"But why me?" Tara asked with a small amount of frustration.

"Xander asked the same thing when he was made a Champion. Most people will ask that question in similar circumstances. At the moment, I would say that other than your companionship, it is that need to question and the doubts about how Xander might do things, that is why you.

"The hard part will be, can you accept it if you are wrong or simply out voted. Xander always listens to people. Considers the advice. Sometimes he will simply vanish to ask someone for their wisdom.

"But the choice will always be his. Can you accept that?"

"You were chosen because you have a kind heart, a desire to be one with nature and because you could truly fall in love with Xander, and he with you. For eternity." Gaia said bluntly as she appeared in a chair opposite them.

"Just because you were chosen does not mean you have to accept. Your primary role is to act as a liaison between Xander and the people. But most of that and anything else you do will be about helping people. You were chosen for that reason, as part of your heart's desire is in essence to help people where you can."

* * *

Tara was pleasantly surprised when she met Ma'al and his crew. She knew Ma'al was probably as bad as Xander with his joker's attitude. But she had been expecting a ship full of hardened warriors who had a fanatical desire to please their god.

What she found was a ship full of husbands, fathers and brothers. All of whom treated Xander like one of them.

Tara questioned Ma'al on why the men weren't with their families.

"Family is an honour among Jaffa. Keeping and providing for our families is one of our highest priorities. Xander made it clear when he first freed us that he considered family important. Lord Oz has since explained that Xander came from an abusive family.

"Lord Xander has a standing invitation to eat and stay with any of his Jaffa. He makes sure that if we die, our families will be well cared for.

"The family men are the ones who are most eager to fight. They know the dangers out there, and they want to make sure first hand that it will never reach their families."

"Why do you keep saying Xander freed you? I thought he was your ruler?" Tara asked. She kept getting confused by this contradiction.

"Actually, Sayel is our leader. He guides and governs the people of Lord Xander. But we are entirely free to leave Lord Xander's armies, leave his territories."

Tara kept asking the hard questions. She wasn't so much looking to prove Xander was bad, but to prove to herself that he was good.

All the information pointed that way.

Fortunately Ma'al was a lot like Xander and Lantesh. They had a way of realising the truth of what people were saying and doing. Ma'al made sure to speak quietly to the Jaffa so they knew that Lady Tara meant no disrespect to Lord Xander.

It would have been very bad if he had not.

Several of the men had family that were lost on the two ships the Tollan had destroyed. They were personally indebted to Xander for the care and love he showed their families. Tara was pleasantly surprised with how the men treated her. She felt like she suddenly had a ship full of big brothers.

* * *

SG1 returned the next day. Jack had threatened to tie Sam to the bed. Sam hadn't objected so Jack had to rethink his strategy. Fortunately a sleepy Charlie had wandered along wondering what was going on. Jack was quite pleased to pop in later to see Sam and Charlie curled up in bed asleep, he soon joined them.

Tara had asked to stay with the Jaffa and SG1 for the day. She was enjoying learning about the Jaffa. Xander had no problem with it, he just reminded her to call if she wanted to come home.

Xander, meanwhile had to arrange meetings with George. They needed to seriously get the new UNSC off the ground. Xander had the full backing of the five nations. The Chinese leader was still having nightmares.

It was agreed that Xander would assemble the first team under his command. It would be comprised of SG1, Sam and himself. The other nations would supply five teams. They would all be under General Hammond's command. But George would be reporting to five superior officers approved by Xander. One from each country.

SG1 was officially on their last mission as US Air Force personnel. They would next leave as Earth Soldiers of the United Nations Space Command.

Tara returned with SG1 later that day. They had decided to sleep at home as it didn't really cost them to use the gate like it did before Xander came along.

It seemed that Jack had finally popped the question to Sam. She was determined to be Mrs. Samantha O'Neill. Jack had managed to gather the courage to propose on Ma'al's bridge on bended knee. Her acceptance was met by much cheering from the Jaffa.

Ma'al of course had slipped Tara a disk for Xander. It seemed he wanted Xander to see the act for himself. Jack was somewhat red faced but took the ribbing with good nature. Sam and Jack asked Xander if they could take them to visit Jacob and give him the news. Xander went and grabbed Charlie first and Tara tagged along too.

Various threats were made by Jacob and Selmak to Jack. These were reinforced by Xander and Charlie. The surprise they had for Xander was that they wanted him to do the ceremony.

"I don't know how to do that!" He said in shock. "I'm just the guy who likes to hit things!"

"Oh can it!" Sam said hitting him playfully. "We want to have a wedding ceremony performed by you. We are hoping God and Hade's can attend. Not to mention our offworld friends."

"Technically you are already ordained. Just not by an official religion… just by one goddess and the Almighty." Jack smirked.

Xander stuck his tongue out at Jack. "Ok. I'll do it so long as I don't have to plan it. You have to help plan the details of the ceremony. I'll just be the… Minister slash MC guy."

Xander was engulfed in a happy hug by Sam.

"This is going to be a very unique wedding." Selmak mused.

Sam turned to Selmak. "Selmak, it's dad's job to give me away… and yes you _do_ have to agree to it! But I would really like it if you would walk me down the aisle."

Selmak was gobsmacked. Tears welling up the two hugged. It was easy to forget that Selmak primarily had female bodies.

"I would be honoured Samantha." She said happily.

Xander arranged a month off for SG1, mainly to give the other countries time to get their teams to the SGC. Each team would accompany a current SG team in order to get a feel for procedure and just how varied each planet can be.

Sam had kidnapped the ladies including Tara and God… well, pretended to kidnap God, so they could spend the week preparing for the wedding. They wanted to use as much of their free time as possible for their honeymoon.

Buffy and Oz would be looking after Charlie for two weeks whilst joining them for a family holiday on the third.

By the Wednesday all the teams had turned up. Jack and Xander were giving orientation lectures. Xander raised the most important subject for them all to understand.

"You _will_ make mistakes." He said seriously. "You _will_ need rescuing. Do not be afraid to request help or just plain retreat. You don't get points for dying trying to hold the line or trying to stop an invasion.

"You die and its over. They will win anyway. You retreat, and you can return with greater numbers or a better plan."

Xander turned around and produced a board covered by a blanket. Jack was a bit confused as it wasn't in their planned notes.

"Now, that said, we all need rescuing at some point. I was technically rescued when I first met SG1. SG1 however has a terrible track record for needing to be rescued."

He removed the blanket with a flourish.

"XANDER!" Jack shouted.

Xander had brought the rescue board from the mess.

"You can pretty much guarantee that you will wind up on this board. The fact that SG1 has the highest rescue rate is the reason none of the teams will be paired with us. We may encounter each other on standard runs, but… you might need to worry if you are scheduled to meet us." He grinned.

Needless to say, none of the foreign teams were looking forward to missions involving SG1.

George was a little pissed. The Chinese government had sent over five teams of non-english speaking members. Xander and George had specifically specified English speaking personnel to ease the transition. Once the five teams were fully settled they could then bring in pure Chinese speakers as the original five could train them.

Daniel realised at some point that the Chinese teams were not speaking plain Chinese, they seemed to be speaking a code. Surreptitiously activating his ever present digital recorder he captured their conversation for Xander to hear. Maybe Beta could decode it.

"Idiots are spying on the SGC." Xander said having heard the recording with George in his office.

"You understood that?" Daniel asked.

"Must count as a language." Xander shrugged. "Lock 'em up. They are planning on stealing the gate… no idea how. I'll go have a quick word with the Chinese President." He said grinning maliciously.

"Think he'll kill him?" Daniel asked the General as Xander vanished.

"Maybe, depends on how complicit he is. I know he intends to conquer China silently if they go to far." He confided.

"What about the Stargate? It'll become public knowledge!" Daniel said aghast.

George chuckled. "Xander won't be working overtly. He'll find trustworthy and decent people and then eliminate the current government as necessary."

"Sounds a little… blood thirsty, to me." Daniel said frowning.

"No, it's very blood thirsty. You have to remember that Xander has to protect the rest of the world from the stupidity of one nation. Back in the times of Joshua, God would have simply ordered him to erase every man, woman and child from the country." George pointed out.

"Why doesn't she do it now?" Daniel asked.

"Because this is a very different world. It is much more of a closer community. Like a high school. You have the cliques like America who are essentially the real jocks. Britain comes close but is more the athletics team. Russia is more along the lines of the martial arts club. Europe and the East are leaning more to the nerds and geeks. But China and the middle eastern countries are bullies. They want to rule the school, and they don't care who they hurt."

"But how does that affect God giving Xander a complete elimination order?" Daniel pressed.

"Because when a bullied young man goes on a killing spree to take out his oppressors, the rest of the school will still condemn his actions." George said sagely.

"So it's about public opinion?" Daniel asked.

"No, more about the average person not understanding the need and believing that a person always deserves another chance. Only God knows if a person has what is needed to turn their life around. Xander is her arbiter in this matter."

"But if that wasn't the case and each country was more secluded…?"

"Xander would have conquered the Chinese, Koreans and probably even us."

* * *

Xander was gone for most of the day. He returned with a dark look on his face.

"The Chinese President had nothing to do with it. Like us he has problems with rogue agencies." Xander informed George. "He asked that we send him whatever we learn from them, also he is trying to track down the real teams. The ones he sent were his most loyal."

"You trust him?" George asked.

"Yes, he wasn't lying and apparently he still has nightmares from when I took him to Netu." Xander chuckled. "He says he made sure he chose men who would follow his orders so he _wouldn't_ have to worry about seeing me again."

"So how do we do this? These men are likely to be trained in resisting interrogation and I won't authorise torture." George said firmly. He knew though that he couldn't stop Xander if he decided it was necessary.

"I won't do that just for information. Punishment yes, but that's what Hell is for." Xander said growling slightly at the memories.

George poured them both a drink. The alcohol had no affect on Xander but the taste and kick was still there.

"There is an option I've had on hand for a while." Xander offered hesitantly. "Lantesh."

"Is it fair to subject them to that?" George asked in horror.

"Hell no!" Xander laughed. "Lantesh wouldn't want to stay with one of them, he is hoping to find someone like Martouf! No, he will simply go in, retrieve the information and return to his incubator till a suitable partner can be found."

"I'm sorry, I know you, Lantesh and Martouf were close." George said.

"Yeah, we miss him. Truth is Lantesh and I would be together happily, but I can't actually take a host. Part of the whole Champion/Angel thing." Xander said sadly.

"I'll keep an eye out for anyone I think might fit the bill." George promised.

"There is someone he has his eye on." Xander chuckled.

"Let me guess. Sam." George said rolling his eyes.

"No, Sam would drive Lantesh nuts! Actually, he thinks he and Jack would be great." Xander smirked.

George meanwhile spurted his whiskey over the desk.

"Jack?" He asked incredulously.

"Why not? They both have great sense of humour, hate the Goa'uld with an unhealthy passion and care for Sam. Although my understanding is that Lantesh only cares for her out of respect for Martouf and Jolinar." He added. "That's not to say he didn't love them, just that Lantesh and Jolinar were together for a long time. He feels that loss as much as he does Martouf's."

"I still think it highly unlikely Jack would agree. Sam would be a push too." George maintained.

"Oh, I agree. So does Lantesh. He won't even mention it to them. He just mentioned it when we were talking one day."

"Anyway, you think asking Lantesh to… 'interrogate' the Chinese prisoners is the right thing to do?" George asked trying to bring the conversation back to where it started.

"I do. They are a huge risk. We need to know who sent them and take them out. People like this will just keep coming back." Xander said emphatically.

George sighed. "I still feel uneasy about this, but I'll approve the procedure."

Xander stood up and gave him an understanding smile. "Don't worry George, always feel free to voice your opinions and concerns, I'm just an angel… not God."

As Xander vanished George couldn't help but mutter, "Not yet a god, anyway."

* * *

Watching Xander talk animatedly to a snake in a jar which made no physical or audible response was… disconcerting.

"We're sure angels can't go nuts?" Jack asked Sam quietly.

Sam just rolled her eyes.

"I assume this is how you felt when you had me locked up?" Daniel asked.

"Are you going to bring that up every chance you get?" Jack asked defensively.

Daniel just smirked at him.

They were suddenly distracted by Xander's loud laughter. Apparently Lantesh had made a funny.

"Ok I give! What is sooo funny that you two are talking about?" Jack asked exasperatedly.

Xander just gave him a wry grin. "Nothing, we were just wondering how long it would take you to ask."

"Seriously?" Sam asked.

"Yep, Lantesh suggested loud laughter might push you over the edge. He was right." Xander said smugly.

"Any chance you have been getting the info out of him about the Chinese spies?" Daniel asked trying to prevent Jack's first blood pressure induced stroke.

"Yeah, he told me a lot of it. He has asked for a favour, Jack." Xander said.

"Oh?" Jack said suddenly caught unawares.

"Yeah, he's asked if you would try him out for a companion just for the briefing." Xander said.

There was a sudden thrashing from Lantesh in his jar.

"Shh!" Xander said.

"Why do I get the idea your playing from your wife's handbook of not giving the whole picture?" Sam asked sweetly. The last thing she wanted was Jack out of action for their wedding.

Lantesh suddenly started thrashing about again.

"I'm going to have to agree with Sam on this one." Daniel said.

"Indeed." Teal'c intoned with a wry little smile. He knew Xander would never put them in danger, but he also knew that Xander and Lantesh were rascals of the highest order.

"What! You doubt my-" And Lantesh started thrashing again. "Fine!" Xander said throwing his hands up in defeat. "em_I/em_ would like you to take him for a short ride during the debriefing. I just want him to sort of stretch his legs, if you can spare the afternoon that would be great."

"Erm… what? Why?... and a whole host of other questions." Jack said trying to wrap his mind around the request.

"Look, Lantesh doesn't want to join with just anyone. He wants someone like Martouf who will be able to be his best friend. You are the closest thing after me. Consider it a test drive." Xander said.

"You want to put a snake in my head?" Jack asked disbelievingly. "Hey!" Lantesh suddenly managed to splash Jack.

"He prefers Tok'ra." Xander corrected.

"Question still stands." Jack said.

"I want to put Lantesh in for a little while. The briefing at the least. We can bring a flask so he can leave when George says 'Dismissed'." Xander gave a very bad impression.

"I dunno, it's just… I still have issues." Jack said wincing.

"Perfect chance to get over them. Let's face it Jack, Lantesh never wanted to ask you and I'll be there to help get him out." Xander said.

"For what it's worth, I believe Lantesh would gladly leave if you asked him to." Daniel offered.

"I concur. I also believe that none of the Tok'ra would dare risk Xander's wrath." Teal'c added.

Jack seemed to bounce and shake on the spot as if trying to argue with himself.

"FINE!" He exploded. "Do it! But you check on me regularly and _only_ for the briefing." He said.

"Sweet!" Xander said rubbing his hands together as he prepared to lift Lantesh from his tank.

Xander held Lantesh towards Jack's face… Jack tried to open his mouth but was clearly fighting instinct.

Lantesh suddenly turned away from Jack to look back at Xander. He made some squeaking noises.

Xander rolled his eyes.

"Lantesh asked if you're really sure, and would you prefer he went in through the back?" He said tiredly.

"Of course I'm _not_ sure!" Jack said with great annoyance. "I thought the Tok'ra didn't like going in the back of the neck?"

"That's only because of what it means to the Goa'uld. Some people find it discomforting, like gagging, plus the sore throat for half an hour." Xander explained.

"Sounds like the back of the neck would be best, plus I… we, have to speak during the briefing." Jack said turning around. "WhAT-!"

Lantesh had suddenly jumped at Jacks exposed neck.

Jack fell to the floor as the sharp pain turned to a burn and then an ache.

It was surprising that there was no blood.

"Jack!" Sam cried as she knelt to check him.

"I'm fine… little weird… but fine." Jack assured her as he sat up.

"Is Lantesh in there?" Daniel asked.

"Erm… hello? Lantesh?" Jack asked himself.

"Ok, now can we have Jack locked up?" Daniel asked with a grin.

"Shut it Danny boy." Jack scowled, he then got this weird look on his face. "Huh, I think I heard him. Laughing?"

"He probably just figured out what Daniel was talking about." Xander offered.

"Yeah, can you guys hear him?" Jack asked curiously.

"No, he's probably leaving control to you till your ready." Xander said.

"This is weird, it's like I've got two conversations going at once." Jack said.

"Jolinar would talk to me whilst we were locked up. She kept assuring me that she would keep me safe and that I would be fine." Sam said sadly as she remembered the being that sacrificed itself for her.

"Yeah sure." Jack said to himself.

"Jolinar could never have lived with herself if she purposefully allowed an unwilling host to suffer because of her." Jack said as with an unnatural voice as he stroked Sam's cheek.

"Lantesh?" Sam asked.

"Yes, Jack allowed me to speak to you regarding Jolinar. Perhaps I can leave him with my memories of Jolinar, it will give you much to speak of at a later date." He said with a fond smile of remembrance.

"Ok, weird feeling." Jack said as he regained control. "Kinda like watching the Blair Witch Project in broad daylight."

"Urgh, I know that feeling." Xander said.

"You do?" Daniel asked.

"Hyena possession and Wash." Xander clarified.

"Ah."

"You feel up to walking around? Getting to the briefing?" Xander asked.

"Jack, what are you doing?" Sam asked as he started sniffing her.

"I can really smell you… you smell _really_ good." Jack said.

"I apologise, Jack is still adjusting to the advantages of being blended." Lantesh said as he backed Jack away.

"Sorry, it's all a bit brighter and clearer… knees feel pretty good too." Jack said as took back control.


	36. Chapter 36

"I take it the interrogation was a success?" George asked as they sat at the table.

"Very well, if slightly disturbing General Hammond." Lantesh answered.

"Lantesh!" George asked in shock.

"Yes General. Xander convinced… and coerced Jack into giving me a brief respite for the duration of this briefing." Lantesh said.

"Colonel O'Neill, do you realise how big of a security breach this is?" George ranted.

"George relax. Lantesh has clearance up the Wazoo and-"

Xander was interrupted by Lantesh laughing his head off.

He suddenly stopped and composed himself. "Sorry." He said bashfully. "I just had a re-run of Futurama."

"-aaand," Xander continued eyeing the pair of nutcases warily, "he is no longer Air Force, he's my team now, remember?"

George deflated slightly. "Quite right. Of course after Lantesh's little display… I'm quite glad they are your problem now." He grinned evilly.

Xander took the route of a very powerful ruler. And blew a raspberry.

"Perhaps we should hear about the interrogation." Teal'c suggested as he hid a smile.

"These men are despicable. I recommend sending them to Xander's prison planet." Lantesh said. "They have done things I refuse to give Jack access to as I can't responsibly do that unless I stay to help him."

Lantesh said with clear disgust.

"I think it's because he would be sharing it as a memory as opposed to observation." Jack offered. "Gotta say, I've had my fair share of bad times, not really looking to experience someone enjoying it."

"Regardless, these men are financed by the business elite." Lantesh continued. "The Chinese President believes them to be trustworthy, but they are only out for their own personal gain. They make the Goa'uld look generous."

"Are they a big threat?" Sam asked.

"They have gained access to everything the Chinese President has. Using that they have inserted personnel into our facilities, and no, they don't know who they are." Lantesh informed them.

"Do you have any information on how we can find them and stop them?" George asked.

"They knew the names of some of the lower members of this group. That is the only starting point I have. As with the best of setups, they knew only what they needed to." Lantesh said.

"Now we just have to figure out how to go rampaging through the Chinese government and business corporations without making to big a splash." Daniel muttered.

"We can send in the AI's." Xander said. "I will have the Chinese President introduce me to his cabinet and I'll make sure they know better than to cross me. When the AI's find something, they will inform us and we will send in an investigatory team. I'll also ask for a Chinese government team so we don't have to worry about westerners standing out."

"If you have someone willing to blend with me temporarily, I would be willing to go in as well." Lantesh offered. "My experience as a Tok'ra gives me skills in espionage that may be useful."

"Thank you very much Lantesh, we'll certainly keep it in reserve, I know you would rather find someone compatible to blend with." George said sincerely.

Xander returned home that evening having put a plan into action. The AI's were already racing around the Chinese infrastructure. Delta was leading the way, but only until he and Xander would be heading off world together. But that was likely over a month away, after Jack and Sam had their honeymoon.

* * *

It was coming into summer time and Xander decided that as SG1 was off active duty, it was about time they all had a vacation. He headed for the President and requested a temporary stand in for George so he could join them again.

Three new additions this time were Charlie, Tara and Graham. Willow claiming she wanted her boyfriend.

Graham had been getting closer to the Scoobies as they continued to work with the Initiative. Oz was the standing in for Xander whilst Masterson had official military command.

Graham still had trouble dealing with the various superior officers that turned up. Every now and again he would stare at Xander or Gaia, trying to comprehend that they were an angel and goddess, respectively.

Willow had caught him staring at Gaia and called him on it. He had to explain himself pretty quickly. Fortunately Gaia assured Willow he was telling the truth.

Graham was coming to the wedding as Willow's guest. In full dress uniform. Needless to say when he turned up at Willow, Buffy and Oz's house the two girls were caught gaping by an amused Oz.

"You do realise I'm standing right here babe?" Oz asked Buffy.

Buffy shook herself out of a daze. "Oz! My boyfriend!" She said guiltily.

Fortunately Oz thought the whole thing was hilarious.

Buffy was a little put out by his laughing. "Hey! Why don't you have a uniform?" She asked.

"I do, but I don't think Jack and Sam's wedding is the best place to wear my Spartan armour." He explained.

Buffy sighed. "I suppose. At least you know how to make that suit look good. Doesn't he Wil- WILLOW!"

Buffy had turned to find Willow glued to Graham's mouth via pure suction. Apparently she was fully enjoying Graham.

Graham was just going with the flow.

The wedding was a very simple affair. Unless you count the fact that it was held on Tonane's home world.

Sam's brother and his family were there having been briefed and made to sign a ton of non-disclosure forms.

Jack's ex-wife and father-in-law were there as well. Both wanting to support Jack in his new life.

Buffy, Willow and Gaia were bridesmaids, Sha're was the Matron of Honour. And of course Selmak was walking Sam down the aisle as Jacob gave her away.

Jack had Daniel as his best man with Oz and Teal'c as groomsmen. The guest list was made up of an eclectic group of people.

Jaffa, Tok'ra, Tollan, Nox, World Leaders, Hades, Michael, a good chunk of the SGC. Not to mention a few other off world friends. Needless to say Tonane, Xe-ls and Takaya were there with the entire Salish village.

It was decided that the couple would recite their vows, then engage in the Salish wedding rituals with a blessing by God.

A mixed affair. But also a stark contrast to the technological style their lives generally took.

Many of the Earth bound people were simply amazed to talk to aliens and be on another planet. The trip through the Stargate was done en masse.

The wedding went off without a hitch. Xander had very little to do other than explain what was happening. He added his own decoration by appearing in a white suit with wings and glow. Needless to say, some wedding photos would not appear in their house on the mantle piece.

Afterwards Graham found himself listening and asking questions of God, Xander and Gaia. The Metatron was off dancing with the bride so Gaia was interpreting for the Creator.

"There's one thing I don't get." Graham said. "You've made contact with world leaders, planetary leaders. All under the title of Angel or Champion of the Universe?"

Xander nodded.

"What about religious leaders?" He asked.

Xander looked a little taken aback, he'd simply never thought of it before. He turned to the two frowning females.

"It's not the best idea." Gaia said. "By revealing ourselves as gods and angels to the religious leaders, we risk a huge amount disruption with their beliefs. It will be impossible for them to understand that they are all partially wrong and all partially right."

"So… we hide from the religious groups?" Xander asked.

"For now. Eventually we will be more open. But regardless, there will be anger and panic. People will think their beliefs are all wrong and they are headed for hell."

"So why not start by meeting with the religious councils like you did with the world leaders?" Graham asked.

He was rewarded with a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek by God, all of which left him with a very goofy grin and a huge blush.

"She says that's a great idea and you should be more involved with Xander, Tara and Willow on that front." Gaia grinned at the blushing soldier.

"ME!" Willow squealed in shock. "Why me?"

"Well what exactly did you think being my priestess involved?" Gaia asked.

"I thought I was just gonna support Oz, Faith and Buffy in the fight against demons." She said with a pout.

"Nope, like Tara for Xander, you are my liaison to various leaders." She grinned.

"Fine." Willow sulked. "I'll go play politics."

"Oh please don't!" Gaia cried. "You're _my_ priestess, not theirs."

Xander meanwhile was sniggering away at Grahams face. He was clearly still trying to recover from the embrace of the Almighty.

"Graham. GRAHAM!" He said loudly as he prodded the soldier.

"Huh?" Graham had a familiar goofy smile.

"Wow, he looks like you used to when God whispered in your ear!" Gaia teased.

"Yeah, good times." He smirked at the Almighty who just blew a big wet raspberry at him.

"Graham, God would like a dance. Just treat her like you would a combination of… Oz and Willow." Gaia said.

Unfortunately this made Graham grimace.

"That's terrible!" Willow cried.

"Not physically!" Gaia said throwing her hands up in exasperation.

Xander quelled his laughter and moved over to God. "Graham, this is a lovely young lady, she likes to dance and play practical jokes… just treat her like that and show her a good time on the dance floor."

At this point God was pouting with full on puppy dog eyes.

"Erm… sure… just please don't send me to Hell if I step on your toes?" He said hesitantly holding his arm out.

God jumped on his arm and dragged him out there.

* * *

A week after the wedding Xander grabbed his friends and family and took them to his favourite place. Tonane's homeworld.

He even nabbed Cordelia stating she deserved a vacation for volunteering to work with the Amazing Brooder.

The real surprise was that she brought Doyle along. Apparently they had gotten closer and were now dating. Although she had laid into him pretty hard about kissing her and diving to his death. All he had were bruises and one miffed girlfriend.

Liam was _not_ invited as Buffy still had no desire to see him. Having been laid into by Cordy for hours on end, he knew better than to ask to come. Not that he wouldn't enjoy a bright sunny day with his new ring.

The first week of their holiday was to be spent building a large log cabin. Xander reasoned that if the guys on Extreme Makeover could do it in a week, then a group of people, some of whom were super powered, could do it fairly easily.

The Salish were excited to have Lord Xander living with them and as such most turned out to help.

They built it in keeping with the Salish architecture. Xander wanted it to be comfy so that it could double as a sick house should any of the Salish need to stay warm due to illness or were too sick to follow the rest of the tribe during migration.

Of course just because you say you are taking a holiday, doesn't mean the universe is going to help you with that.

By the second week Daniel had a call from Earth stating that his mentor had died. He went back to Earth for the funeral only to be caught up in a hunt for a Goa'uld that had been in stasis and had now taken over his ex-girlfriend.

Unfortunately Xander wasn't able to arrive in time and Osiris escaped in a cloaked ship, easily evading the unsuspecting Gate Ship. Daniel was a little down after that, but Xander dropped him back with the others to spend his time with them.

"Its just hard. I know she's out there somewhere and that she is essentially being tortured by the Goa'uld." Daniel told the group sadly round their nightly campfire.

The cabin was fully equipped to handle the whole group and be expanded. But they preferred to enjoy the out doors as much as possible.

Even Cordelia.

"Tortured?" Buffy asked.

"Imagine being forced to watch as your body was used to inflict pain and death on innocent men and women. Even children." Sha're said with a shudder as Daniel pulled her closer. "And living the past memories of torture you had nothing to do with as if it was your own."

"Just remember guys, you see her, call for me straight away. I can pop in and release her lickity split." Xander reminded them as he sat on a log with Gaia snuggled between his legs. Tara was getting closer to them and was sitting snuggled in Xander's side.

"What will you do with her once you released her?" Faith asked.

"Kill it." Xander said in confusion.

"You'll kill Sarah?" She asked in horror.

"What? No!" Xander said quickly. "Sorry, thought you meant Osiris-"

"Who was a he." Daniel interjected.

"No, we'll give Sarah counselling. Introduce her to the gang and try and help her regain her life or start a new one." Xander clarified.

"Is… isn't it hard to be with someone once they've done… what it is they… did." Buffy asked uncomfortably.

The issue of Liam and Angelus had been brought to the forefront of her mind during the vacation. Especially with Cordy and Doyle around.

"No." Daniel said kissing his wife's head. "We know full well that the host has no control over its body if the Goa'uld doesn't allow it."

Oz pulled Buffy closer. They had talked about this a few times in private. Oz had a lot of contact with the Jaffa and Tok'ra, not to mention a few Goa'uld. He knew full well why this troubled Buffy. He also recommended Buffy talk to the rest of the gang about it. They weren't just friends and colleagues. They were family. They wouldn't judge her. Not about this, having been at her side as she was tormented.

"I do not believe that you need to force yourself into a one on one situation with Liam. But I do think it would be beneficial for you to engage him in conversation even if someone else is present at the time." Teal'c said cutting to the heart of the matter.

Buffy shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she struggled to formulate a response from the mess in her mind.

"Why?"

Teal'c smiled fondly at Buffy. Like the rest of SG1, he had grown fond of the Scoobies. They were an odd mixture of warriors and carefree children. Even Xander with his two thousand years and Gaia as old as the Universe itself had a childlike joy at times.

He took great comfort in this, knowing that it was possible to fight evil and still be happy.

"This… fear, you have, it is a weakness. A warrior should always strive to eliminate those weaknesses they can perceive." He explained. "If you can overcome this weakness, this fear, then you will be a stronger warrior. And a happier person."

"Sound advice for anyone." Joyce commented, the various adults murmuring their agreement.

"When you're ready, say the word and any of us will be ready to accompany you and watch your back whilst you confront him." Xander said.

"I… I want to." She said hesitantly. "I-I don't want Liam to suffer for Angelus' crimes… I don't want Sha're to suffer for Ammonet's crimes."

"Well, Liam is doing a good job now. The boy's opening up a bit more too." Doyle offered. "My understanding is he's guilty of a few things… mostly stupidity."

"He was a drunkard and womanizer and he had sexual relations with an underage girl. But, that's about it." Xander said.

"What girl?" Buffy asked.

Xander looked at her incredulously as Oz whispered in her ear. She turned beet red.

"Oh! Never mind." She said quickly.

"We can set something up after holiday." Xander offered. Buffy hesitantly nodded her assent.

* * *

During the third and final week of their vacation they were joined by Jack and Sam. They decided that the three of them were to spend a family vacation together, so why not spend it with the whole family.

Xander however was called away via God Phone.

"Siler? What's up man?" Xander asked as he appeared in the maintenance room of the SGC ground base. As per habit he was in full armour.

"Sir, the temporary base commander standing in for General Hammond has ordered a naquada bomb test on a planet. The scientists raised concerns about the outcome and wisdom of the test. The Jaffa objected because it's one of the planets in your territories. He had them locked up." Siler whispered. He was clearly worried.

"And the SG staff went with this?" Xander asked in disbelief.

"He brought his own security in." Siler explained. "He also denied access to the gate for foreign team members."

"What's his name?"

"General Bauer, sir." Siler answered. "Walter has put some flaws into the gate computers to prevent dial out. He's been thrown in with the Jaffa."

"Right, guess I better go and sort this guy out." Xander growled. "Siler, go about your duties, I imagine this will be sorted within the hour."

Siler knew Xander was well and truly pissed when Xander didn't just vanish, but did so with a bright flash.

"How long until the gate is up and running?" Bauer barked.

"Not until I say so." Xander said as he appeared. His glow was bright and caused the occupants of the room to be temporarily blinded.

"Arrest the intruder." Bauer ordered even though he couldn't see properly.

"Stand down. I am Lord Xander. I have full authority of the President of the United States and it's allies."

"You are an unauthorized intruder. This is my command and I have not given you permission to be here." Bauer declared.

"You are on my property. You have attacked my people. You are guilty of an act of war." Xander said calmly. "Be very glad I didn't kill you on sight."

The guards, whom Xander did not recognise had their weapons pointed at the armour clad being with wings.

"Drop your weapons and get on your knees!" One of them barked.

Xander clearly tired of this. A quick spin of his wings and the guards were disarmed. They quickly drew their side arms and began firing though.

The regular gate personnel ducked beneath the consoles as did the General.

Xander just stood there facing the firing guards. The bullets bouncing off his shield as his wings were extended to protect the other personnel.

"Delta, initiate Foothold Protocols." Xander ordered the AI who had long since returned from the infiltration of the Chinese infrastructure.

Without a word Delta left Xander and entered the computer systems. Xander just stood there as they continued to shoot. He wondered if they would ever figure out they were out of their league.

There was a bright flash and the guards vanished. General Bauer too.

Another bright flash and the Gate Ship Jaffa appeared in the Gate Room.

"Hi guys!" Xander said cheerfully as he waved at the stunned Jaffa.

There was a brief moment of confusion, and then a loud cheer as the Jaffa realised their Lord had rescued them.

Xander activated the ship announcement system.

"This is Lord Xander. I have removed General Bauer and his men from command and placed them in holding. I have initiated Foothold protocols. I will bring back General Hammond to retake command and then go see the President. In the meantime Ja'fre is in command."

Ja'fre was the Jaffa that Xander had risked his life to save many months ago during the Reetou attack. He had worked hard and been given command of the Jaffa forces stationed at the SGC after the foothold invasion of imposters.

Xander quickly retrieved a fuming General Hammond. George was outraged at what was being done to his men and command.

Both Xander and George had to be calmed down by Ja'fre when they learned Walter had been beaten by Bauer and his men as they tried to get him to release the lockout on the Stargate.

He would survive, but he had various broken limbs and was currently unconscious. The Jaffa he had been placed in a cell with had done their best to tend to him. But they were focused warriors, not medics.

Fortunately the Tok'ra on duty was able to heal much of his wounds, but he would need at least a month to recover.

The Jaffa had set a guard over him, not even Xander could get them to leave his side. He was a hero and brother to them now. It was something both George and Xander could respect.

* * *

Xander surprised the President and his wife by appearing in their bedroom. Apparently it was night time.

"Xander?" The President asked blearily. "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry Jack, had a bit of a crisis at the SGC, need you to give official orders as General Bauer has committed acts of war against me and my people."

"WHAT!" Jack Ryan roared as he sprung up nearly knocking Caroline from the bed.

"He was ordering the test detonation of a naquada bomb on one of my planets. He had my Jaffa locked up and denied access to the foreign teams. Sergeant Walter Harriman locked the gate down and refused to unlock it and they tortured him."

"Walter? The man who controls the Iris and Gate?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah. Several of my Jaffa are refusing to leave his side." Xander said.

"He's a nice man. He explained a few things to me about the gate and the ship when we had the tour." Caroline said angrily.

"Don't worry. The Tok'ra on duty sorted him out. He'll need recovery time though."

Jack had been struggling into his trousers and was now navigating his shirt buttons.

"Bauer is going to wind up disappearing for this. I hope you have a spare cell on your prison planet Xander." Jack growled angrily.

"Not a proble-" Xander tilted his head. "George is calling, gotta go." Xander vanished.

Jack just struggled faster but this time did so as he hobbled out the door without his shoes and socks on.

Caroline sighed and started to get up herself. Sleep was a lost cause tonight.

"Xander! They have my granddaughters!" George was white with fear pacing his office.

"Who?" Xander growled. He was back in his armour as per his protocol. But at the mention of George's daughters he was also wings out and shining bright.

"I don't know. But they knew about the Stargate. Said if I didn't put Bauer back in command, they'd kill them."

"Delta, find them." Xander ordered.

"Already have." Delta replied calmly.

"What about their parents?"

"They were the ones that called me. I've sent a team to retrieve them." George said shaking.

"I recommend taking backup to retrieve the girls. They are being held on an Aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific." Delta said. "I believe it is the Vagrav, a former Soviet craft acquired by the Chinese."

"They have transporter tech?" Xander asked.

"They appear to have tapped into the SGC systems. I have shunted control to Gamma who is currently running our private systems."

"Prepare an assault plan and I'll go grab the guys." Xander said vanishing.

* * *

The plan was simple. Xander would jump in with Oz and grab the girls and then jump out. Oz would mop up the room whilst SG1 would land on deck in a Pelican.

With the help of the Tok'ra and Tollan, the Pelican's now had active cloaks. No one would see them coming.

Buffy, Faith, Church, Willow and Graham were also going along with SG1. Willow was primarily for defence. Church was playing recon, he was travelling without a body in Faith's watch.

It explained why she called him 'Boy-toy'.

The three girls were kitted out in their custom ODST armour. They were armed with Zats, Buffy and Faith were also toting Staff weapons.

They were currently hovering over the carrier. It was a clear bright day, which was good as it made it easier for the cloak. No outlines in the rain.

The first problem occurred with the assumption of the kidnappers motives.

Everyone thought that kidnapping the girls was a means to extorting their demands from Hammond.

Xander dropped Oz off and had the girls back in the infirmary with their Grandpa in seconds.

But when he returned to Oz he found him unconscious with his helmet off and a gun to his head.

"If it isn't the angel." A voice said mockingly from the shadows.

They were in a storage room with a single bulb hanging from the ceiling.

It was a cliché, and probably one they had set up. Xander didn't think the Soviet Navy would be dumb enough to use swinging lights on a craft prone to swaying.

Xander started to move to Oz and the man holding him at gunpoint.

"I wouldn't do that." The voice stopped him. "One wrong move and your little 'Spartan' has a new hole."

"I'm kind of on a schedule. What do you want?" Xander sighed.

He didn't want to take too long, SG1 and the others were probably about to walk into a trap. Fortunately Delta was already on his way back to the others to warn them.

"We want you to leave our planet alone." The voice growled. "We'll also take your armour whilst you're here." It added as an after thought.

"Right, so the first issue is that this is not your planet. It's mine. I was born here and I will defend it. Even from it's self. Second issue; you are not getting my armour." He said bluntly.

"Then we'll kill you and take the armour from your bodies, we'll send your corpses back to your alien scum as a message."

"Do you really not know who we are?" Xander asked in confusion. He couldn't believe these guys hadn't done their homework.

"Just some freaks who think they can trick us into believing their angels and gods." It snarled.

Xander sighed, he decided arguing would be pointless. He did have one question though.

"Just out of curiosity, who set this up?"

"You can carry that curiosity to the grave. Kill them." The voice ordered.

Xander quickly drew his zat and fired a shot into the shadows at the voice. The darkness was effective at hiding his features, but not his heat signature from his thermal sensors.

The man holding Oz put a bullet in Oz's head. That really pissed Xander off, he blinded them all with his light he didn't reveal his wings though as it was relatively tight quarters.

There were five other men in the room. Xander didn't need any of them alive and he refused to leave them to cause problems later. They had made their choice. He ignited his sword and dismembered them all in seconds.

Once the room was cleared Xander grabbed Oz's helmet and placed it on his friends head. Oz would recover but he would do it under Janet's care. He also grabbed the man he had zatted.

Within seconds Xander had dropped the prisoner off at the prison planet with orders for the guards to ensure his health as he was to be interrogated.

The Jaffa knew Xander abhorred unnecessary violence. They also realised that this prisoner needed watching to ensure he didn't have a suicide plan.

In short order he was placed in a stasis pod provided by the Asgard for special prisoners such as these. They were designed to hold Zatarcs like Martouf or brainwashed individuals like Ry'ac had been.

Prisoners who were a danger to themselves or others but of potential intelligence value.

Neither Xander nor his Jaffa had a problem executing those deserving of the punishment. It was still a topic of debate between the allies though.

With the prisoner in custody Xander dropped Oz off at the SGC infirmary. He banished the armour into the sword. Something that Xander could still do even though it wasn't his sword anymore, it recognised him as a member of the Host of Heaven.

Janet would remove the bullet and repair as much as she could, the on duty Tok'ra would finish the job, Oz would likely be up and around within the day even without their help, but it wouldn't hurt.

Xander returned to Jack and the gang aboard the hovering Pelican. Delta had delivered the warning and they were waiting for Xander to get a better plan in place.

"Where's Oz?" Buffy asked.

"Back at the SGC. It was a trap for Oz and myself. I got the girls out easy enough, but by the time I returned, they had incapacitated him and got his helmet off. He got a bullet to the brain for it."

Buffy gasped as tears rushed to her eyes.

"Easy Buff. Oz will be fine… no human can take him down. He'll likely be up by the time we get back."

Sam wrapped Buffy in a hug with Willow. Sam knew what it was like to have someone you love nearly die.

"How did these guys take down Oz?" Jack asked. Oz had Xander's original armour. There should have been no way for these people to incapacitate him, let alone get the helmet off.

"I honestly don't have a clue. I captured one of their guys. We'll have Lantesh perform his interrogation."

"What made them think they could take you, an angel, down?" Daniel asked.

"They think I'm a fraud." Xander said simply.

"Are they fanatics?" Jack asked.

"Yes. Definitely." Xander said firmly. The trouble with a fanatic is that they will gladly sacrifice themselves to complete their goal. There was likely a self-destruct on the ship.

"Do you have a plan?" Jack asked.

"Yes. Jack, you and Teal'c drop off onto the end of the ship runway. Take up a sniper position and take out any you see. Sam, Daniel. You take the other end and perform the same role. Take out any you see."

"What about us?" Faith asked.

"Stay on the Pelican until I give the all clear. I'll be sweeping the ship with Delta and Church performing recon. Once we can be sure that any failsafe has been deactivated I'll call you in to help finish the sweep. You _will_ work as a team and not split up." He ordered firmly.

"No problem." Buffy shrugged. She was feeling a bit better as Willow had promised her that Oz would be fine. And she didn't doubt Xander anyway.

"I take it you want to capture the ship?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, we need to know how they took out Oz and who set the mission up."

"I've got twenty on Kinsey!" Jack piped up.

There were various comments of 'no-bet' and declarations of not being suckers.

Xander thought it was probably Kinsey as well. If the evidence showed it was, Kinsey would die. There was no two ways about it.

"Church, jump in. Get in position guys." Xander said, vanishing as Church entered his armour.

Jack was about to give the order for them to disembark when Xander reappeared and headed over to a weapons locker and brought out a bulky weapon.

He handed to Graham. "This is the Spartan Laser. Take out communications and any vehicles trying to escape. Beta can teach you the basics."

And he vanished again.

"Aw… I wanted to try it first!" Jack whined.

* * *

Xander could tell that Graham was going to town with the Spartan Laser. The blasts were rocking the carrier. Fortunately, there was a recharge station for the power packs built into the Pelican.

Xander was currently invisible and heading down the stairs into the depths of the ship. Relying on sensors and reports.

Delta had tagged several personnel as people that should be captured as opposed to killed. Xander trusted Delta's decisions and had his zat at the ready as well as his battle rifle in hand.

The close confines of the corridors were no place to try and swing a sword. He would recommend that Buffy and Faith forgo their staff weapons when they joined him.

Delta had already completed a full data dump from the bridge computers. Xander had placed claymores at the entrances in case he missed anyone. Fortunately the claymores had been designed with friend or foe identification technology. None of the gang could accidentally set them off as they went into a stand down mode if any of them were within the blast radius.

According to Delta and Church there were a lot of labs and scientists. Both AI's had noted that some of the scientists seemed to be prisoners and under forced labour. Xander would leave those to SG1 and the Scoobs.

* * *

Jack and Teal'c were in position. Jack was sniping whilst Teal'c played spotter. So far they had seen one person. The poor sod was unlucky enough to exit a doorway and get a bullet from both Sam and Jack.

Graham was picking his targets based on the intel from Beta. He didn't want to take out stationary vehicles as they would be valuable resources at a later date.

"There's a submarine escaping!" Beta reported.

"Alert Xander. Can anyone see it?" Graham asked.

Willow looked carefully at the water but realised it was far too choppy to see beneath the surface.

She chanted a few words and suddenly an overlay like the ODST HUD appeared at the opening of the Pelican where Graham was stationed.

All life forms and objects where marked.

Including a small submarine, like a marine explorer.

"I'll take the shot, but I don't know how effective it will be." Graham warned as the Spartan Laser charged.

The blast of red created a tunnel to the target. Water was superheated. But as Graham feared, it did little good. The craft was clearly moving slower as the water fell back into the newly created void.

"Xander!" Graham shouted.

"What's up?" Xander asked as he appeared on the Pelican.

"Small sub heading away. Spartan Laser can't penetrate the water far enough." Graham reported.

"I'm on it." Xander said as he dived out in to the ocean.

"Are we expecting another Whale fiasco?" Buffy asked.

"'Whale Fiasco'?" Graham queried.

"We'll show you the footage… not Xander's best moment really." Willow grimaced.

It soon became obvious that Xander was going for a classic.

The Giant Squid.

Instead of trying to get into the tiny submarine, Xander merely tossed it onto the deck of the carrier. He then called the Pelican to land.

"The ship is clear as best as I can tell. There are scientists, but some appear to be in forced labour. Round up everyone in a cargo bay. Trust none of them. I have a mothership on the way. Ma'al himself will be supporting you, so don't try any heroics. In fact, you might as well just watch the exits. I'm going to open this tin can and have a word with the occupants." Xander said as he ignited his plasma sword.

"Sam and Daniel will accompany the Scoobs, Teal'c and I will cover you." Jack said as SG1 approached.

As the Scoobies moved off Xander approached the hatch of the sub and began cutting. Teal'c and Jack had positions covering, zats ready.

Xander made short work of the door, it fell outwards to the deck with a noisy clang.

"Either you come out or I come in. Makes little difference to me." Xander called out.

Soon two individuals appeared at the hatchway. One was not someone they recognised. The other was someone they despised.

"Kinsey." Jack hissed.

"Robert Kinsey, this is the final straw. No more chances." Xander said firmly. "You will be subjected to an interrogation and then you will be cast into Hell."

"What!" Jack asked in shock.

Kinsey just looked disgusted. He truly didn't believe Xander was what he claimed to be, and he didn't care what he had to do to get what he wanted.

"Generally speaking, that's what happens to evil beings Jack. What did you think would happen?" Xander asked confused.

"Sorry, it's just not often you hear that sort of thing and know it will actually happen." Jack said trying to wrap his head around it.

"Jack, Hades has flat out refused him entry to the Underworld. He will be waiting on the other side with God and Gaia to witness his judgement. You need to remember that he has not only used children for his own means, but he has also disrespected The Almighty. The Host of Heaven have been chomping at the bit to get at him. There was a lot of grumbling when I didn't just execute him."

"Perhaps we should secure Kinsey and his partner and continue this discussion later?" Teal'c suggested.

The pair were soon cuffed and prepped for transport. Jack and Xander escorted them back whilst Teal'c joined the others in securing the scientists for Ma'al's arrival.


	37. Chapter 37

Lantesh made quick work of interrogating the three men Xander had captured. Jack played host the whole time instead of using the jar to transport Lantesh whilst they escorted the two from the carrier to Xander's prison planet, he went personally to pick Lantesh up blended with him so Lantesh would have a better understanding of what had happened.

Kinsey was as belligerent as he could be considering he was a mute. But he managed somehow. It was somehow satisfying to see the pure fear on Kinsey's face when he realised they actually meant to put a snake in him.

Xander and Jack just watched impassively. There was no pain or torture involved. But Lantesh tore through Kinsey's mental barriers with ease.

With Ma'al having relieved the Scoobs, they all assembled in the briefing room.

"I'd like to thank you all for rescuing my granddaughters." George said somewhat emotionally.

"They're family George. We would never leave them behind." Jack said.

The rest were quick to agree.

"Thank you. Lantesh, could you tell us what you learnt?" George asked the symbiote now housed in Jack's body.

"Of course." He said in his deep dual tone voice. "Kinsey has ties to the Chinese spies. Only he doesn't realise it. Having performed the interrogation on both parties I was able to piece together that the people who Kinsey was working with, are also the businessmen and women who defied the Chinese President and sent the spies in.

"Their primary goal is power. They all have different ideas on how that power manifests, but it is power they are after. Kinsey wants political power. Be very glad he never made it the White House, America would be a dictatorship and you would never realise it. The Chinese want monetary power.

"There is an underlying organisation which I believe is called 'The Trust'. I missed the meaning with the Chinese spies as I thought they were using the term in general language, not as a name. But Kinsey knows the name and reports to them.

"None of them truly know anything about the Trust, and as such, neither do I." Lantesh concluded.

"What was the purpose of the aircraft carrier?" Sam asked.

"A simple base of operations. Much like the SGC or Tok'ra tunnels. They performed scientific experiments and operations out of it. Alas, it is not the only base. They do not know the locations, but they do know that there are other bases out there."

"I recommend leaving an AI in the SGC systems. They weren't able to access our private teleporters, but they hacked the Gate Ship systems." Xander said. "Gamma is available, he can ensure security for all SG systems."

"Are you sure he can't be compromised?" George asked.

"Anything's possible. But the AI's are the most reliable and advanced form of security we have."

"I believe I may be able to create new AI's." Delta offered from his position on the table in front of Xander. "They would be complete AI's like The Alpha and myself."

Church could be heard muttering about being a ghost, but he was generally ignored, barring a few smirks.

"Same security and loyalty as you and the others?" Xander asked.

"Essentially, they would be my offspring. They would inherit these things from me." Delta explained.

"Ok, I trust your judgement. Do what you need to, just let us know how long it will take and how it will affect your abilities to help." Xander said.

"Done." Delta said.

"Cool, send a copy of the details to General Hammond before you begin." Xander ordered.

"By 'done', I meant I have created my first child." Delta corrected.

There was a silence that had the distinct sense of mental gears turning as the occupants of the room tried to wrap their minds around Delta's pronouncement.

"You'd already done it or it took you seconds to do?" Sam asked eventually.

"It took seconds to do. I perfected the process over the two thousands years I spent with Xander in Hell and Heaven." He explained.

"I thought you wiped your memory of what you experienced so you wouldn't go… nuts?" Daniel asked.

"Only my memories of experience. Which I still do, when I accompany Xander to Heaven, nowadays. Any work I perform or projects I complete are not erased as they do not contain data on Heaven and Hell. They are separate and unaffected."

"Is that even possible?" Sam asked. "I thought the affects of being in either place affected everything."

"It's the same as me telling you what Lucifer said when I handed Apophis over. Or what the angels said and how I became one." Xander told her. "It's just information and data. None of the actual glory of Heaven or horrors of Hell are attached."

"What's his name?" Oz asked from where Buffy was perched in his lap. She had been very upset when she finally got to see Oz. Hard to kill or not, a bullet to the brain was not a pleasant concept.

"Who's name?" Church asked.

"Delta's son." Oz clarified. "Or daughter?"

"Due to the predefined purpose of my offspring to manage this installation, I created a female and, as Xander originally intended to go as the Master Chief, John 117, I decided to make my first child-"

"Oh god." Xander groaned.

"Me!" Came the obvious female tones of Cortana.

Standing a few inches shorter than Delta was the purple avatar of Cortana.

"Delta, you have a terrible sense of humour." Xander moaned.

"Delta has a sense of humour?" Jack asked incredulously.

He was summarily ignored.

"phhhhbbbbttt" Except for by Cortana who indulged in a raspberry.

"Just how much like Cortana is she?" Xander asked tiredly.

"All AI's post Covenant Wars share info. This includes forerunner data and personality routines. It is a form of backup if one AI is destroyed, the others can rebuild or repair the fallen AI." Cortana explained.

"So why didn't O'Mally or Gamma do that?" Oz asked.

"They were only fragments. They did not hold all of the data, only some." Delta explained. "Having been with Church several times, I was able to acquire all of the necessary data from his archives. As a result I have most of the data necessary to recreate any of the AI's, I filled in the blanks based on personal observations."

"Can we go back to the part about my 'archives'!" Church asked a little annoyed.

"Bud, you gotta accept that you are an Artificial Intelligence. Doesn't make you any less alive, just makes you a different type of life form." Xander said kindly.

"I'm really not a ghost." Church sighed sadly.

"Nope, just a different kind of soldier." Xander said, smiling as Faith wrapped an arm around him.

"If I could backtrack slightly and try and put us back on topic." George said. "Cortana, could you explain what you believe you would be doing at the SGC?"

"Whatever Dad or Granddad say I should." She shrugged.

"Dad and Granddad?" Lantesh asked with a smirk.

"Delta is my dad and Xander is essentially my Granddaddy." She said somewhat embarrassed at her use of familial terms.

Xander meanwhile was banging his head on the table.

"Wouldn't Church be your Granddad?" Daniel asked.

"Nope, he's Alpha Daddy." She smirked as Church joined Xander in his actions.

"Having spent much time with Xander, I have inherited much of his pack mentality. Church is the Pack Alpha. I am the Pack Beta. Cortana is a cub. My cub."

"And Xander?" Faith asked. She was getting confused with all the family tree stuff, she had a distinct feeling Jerry Springer would run screaming from this mess.

"He is beyond Pack. He is the King of the Jungle to use a popular analogy."

"Cortana, you ok with all this?" Xander asked, she was essentially alive and deserved to be treated as such.

"Of course! It will be fun." She said smiling. "I do have one request." She said shyly.

Xander just smiled fondly. He liked the idea of being a grandpa. It might be several decades before he got the chance. "What's that?"

"Can I get a body? Like Alpha?"

"I think something can be arranged. I've been meaning to speak to Thor about Church's body. I want to look into specific upgrades, but it's a surprise." He said pointedly to Church. "So I'll say no more other than give me a few weeks."

"Is it me or does she sound younger than Cortana?" Jack asked.

"She is only a couple of minutes old, she is not actually Cortana, but her own person." Delta explained.

"Wonderful, we have a new born running the base." Jack rolled his eyes.

"She may not be Cortana, but she does have the memories and experiences of the original Cortana available to her. She is more than qualified." Delta assured him.

"Very well. I will leave Delta to get you settled." George said. "I think it would be best if you accompanied me around the base, at least for a few weeks so I can get used to you being around."

"Of course General, I am already fully integrated and familiar with the SG Systems." Cortana said dropping her girlish tendencies and adopting the mannerisms of the well-known command AI she was portrayed as in the games.

"So what's the plan? What do we do about the Trust and Kinsey?" Willow asked.

The soldiers as well as Oz and Xander exchanged uneasy looks.

"We will continue to search for the Trust. With Cortana here to defend the SGC, we can tell the other AI's to focus on the Trust." Xander said. "As for Kinsey… his fate is already decided. He will be executed in front of the SGC personnel, the World Leaders and Earth's allies. You, Tara, Oz and myself have been requested to be present when his sentence is handed down by God."

Buffy and Willow gasped in shock.

"You don't have to be present for either. It was merely a request, an offer to be a part of the justice of God."

"He's going to Hell?" Faith asked, her face ashen.

"He is, he sealed his own fate. It's not his beliefs that have condemned him, but his actions. Had he merely worked to get into the White House and do things by the law, then he would be granted a place in the Underworld. But he kidnapped children, insulted the Almighty and attempted to kill her personal soldier."

The other's looked confused at this.

Xander chuckled mirthlessly. "You seem to forget that, although Oz is under my command, he is a 'Hound of God'. It's not just a fancy name.

"She takes great offence at such actions. Previously she was happy to allow the angels and Hades to deal with Kinsey and carry out sentence, but assaulting Oz has changed the game.

"She would like Oz to carry out the mortal execution. If you can." Xander said softly to the quiet man.

Oz swallowed hard. He knew it was his duty to kill. Specifically cursed werewolves with no desire for help. He also knew he had and would kill in battle. An execution was a totally different matter. He knew how hard it had been for Xander when he had executed his uncle and aunt.

He looked up and found himself staring into George's eyes. He made his decision. Kinsey had attacked children and insulted the Creator. Someone who inspired great love. He could do this.

"I can." He said simply.

Xander just nodded, whilst Buffy gasped.

She didn't say anything though. She knew it was his duty, just like she had hers. She also knew it was a command from God. Something she would carry out if asked.

George sighed. "When do you want to do this?"

"Now." Xander said. "Do not send warning, take them when they are alone and treat them as honoured guests. In fact, Cortana, I order you to take them. That way George can't get in trouble. I will collect our allies. Jack are you and Lantesh good for a while longer?"

"We're fine kid, we can wait." Jack said seriously.

"I'll be back here as quick as I can. Assemble the World Leaders and base personnel."

Xander vanished.

"Would you excuse me, I need to see if I can speak to God." Oz said gently standing as he moved Buffy to her chair.

Oz suddenly vanished.

"Guess he can." Jack remarked.

* * *

"Hi Oz." God said as she hugged the young wolf.

"Hi." He said hoarsely.

"At anytime you can change your mind." She assured him.

Oz believed her. He also knew that she knew he wouldn't.

"You want to know the procedure?" She said only half asking.

"Yes, I don't want to wind up insulting someone."

"Someone will always be insulted. It's the only problem with variety." She chuckled. "The procedure is simple. You will don your armour. You will draw your sword and pierce his chest with it.

"He will see the eyes of his peers as he dies. They will see his eyes. It will be a quick death with little suffering. But there will be time for them to witness the life leave him. This is most important. His death is not just a punishment. It is a message for the people of the Universe that Xander's law is my law. He is not to be crossed. And you are our right hand in these matters."

"I-I-I understand." He said wearily. He knew his duty. He would perform it well.

"I will be there Oz, in plain view. The Voice and Michael will be holding him in full armour. Another sign of my blessing upon you and Xander.

"Remember Oz, you are only removing him from this plane of existence. He will be sentenced to eternal damnation by myself when he is brought here."

"This is where you used to bring Xander?" He asked purposefully changing the subject as he indicated the white space around him.

"It is. A simple setting, a place between Heaven and Earth where mortals can meet with me."

"Cool." Oz said.

"Come on. It is time."

"Already?" He asked surprised.

"I'm God, Oz! I could take us to the end of time, a few minutes into the future won't be a problem." She chuckled.

"What about Buffy?"

"Michael has been down there since you left. He has explained where you are and what will happen. Buffy is fine and understands. Now, put on your armour and let's go."

* * *

Jack Ryan had seen some terrible things in his life. He wanted a clean administration. It was clean, but everyday he had to defend it from insipid scum like Kinsey. He was, in many ways, relieved that Xander had taken responsibility for Kinsey. He would hate to have to deal with this mess. Even now he felt guilty for not objecting to the execution of a US citizen. Kinsey was captured in International Waters. He was held on sovereign territory, the Gate Ship. Xander's Gate Ship.

Surrounding him were the five leaders of the nations involved in the Stargate Project. Several other countries were due to be approached in the very near future.

Her Majesty the Queen of England was also present. Tollan, Tok'ra, Salish, Nox, Asgard and many more were assembled to witness this act. The SG personnel were arrayed in standard parade formation. Xander and his friends were stood nearby to the side with the delegates. Xander himself was standing at the front facing everyone. Waiting, dressed in his armour, but no helmet, his wings were folded against his back. It was clear to everyone that an angel stood amongst them.

There was a fiery column and The Metatron appeared.

"Behold the Creator and her court. Kneel and show reverence." He declared.

Another flash of fire and The Almighty stood before them. On either side of God stood Gaia and Hades.

Xander knelt, Xander's friends following suit. The personnel also kneeled with General Hammond. The Queen and her Prime Minister both knelt. Jack was not far behind with the French and Chinese Presidents. The Russian President looked belligerent so Jack surreptitiously poked him in the back of the knee. There was no need for more stupidity, Kinsey was enough.

A few of the off world allies looked confused. But they saw the Tok'ra, Nox and Salish kneel and knew Lord Xander would not kneel before an unworthy person, so they followed suit.

The Creator and her court, which consisted of two angels and two gods, were dressed in fine robes of pearl with a golden trim. They were the very image of purity and royalty. There was no sign of the fun loving deity in a silver jacket and pink tutu.

The Creator raised her arms signalling them to rise.

They did, following Xander and the gods lead.

Kinsey appeared between Michael and The Voice. They held tightly to his arms as Kinsey was dressed in an orange jumpsuit. Something that Xander had adopted from his home planet for his prison planet.

"You are here to witness the execution of Robert Kinsey. He has betrayed his country, his planet and the Universe. He has insulted The Creator and assaulted a Warrior of The Almighty." Xander stated loudly.

Kinsey struggled against his captors. He tried to shout but he was still mute. God had no intention of removing that punishment. He would die mute, no one would hear his cries or rhetoric.

"Lord Oz, the Hound of God, Warrior of the Almighty. Are you prepared to carry out the execution?" Xander turned to his friend.

"I am my Lord." Oz said bowing to his superior.

"Proceed."

Xander stepped aside. Kinsey suddenly looked up and saw all those people. He recognised many faces. Reviled most of them. He knew he would find little mercy amongst the citizens of Earth. They didn't understand what he did. He focused on the aliens. Surely the pacifist Nox and Tollan would aide him. But the female Nox looked disgusted. The male Tollan… ill.

He tried to scream. But he was mute.

Jack Ryan wanted to throw up. He knew fear. The fear of death. He had seen many men display the same fear. But never in such a controlled environment.

He watched as Lord Oz ignited his sword and stepped in front of Kinsey. He appeared to be examining him. But with his face shield, there was no way to tell.

Lord Oz turned slightly, leaving Kinsey visible to the witnesses.

There was a hiss as the sword went in. The look of pure shock on Kinsey's face. The realisation that he was already dead.

The gasps from the witnesses, like Jack they had never expected to ever witness something like this.

Lord Oz withdrew his sword slowly. Kinsey appeared to choke slightly. Blood trickled down the right side of his mouth.

He looked betrayed. Afraid. The life left his eyes as his head lolled lifelessly.

The Metatron and Michael released their hold allowing the corpse to fall to the ground.

Jack watched as Lord Oz turned and walked to the Almighty, kneeling before her as his armour vanished.

The Creator placed a hand on his head. Smiling sadly. She lifted him to his feet and pulled him into an embrace, whispering in his ear.

Eventually she pushed him into the arms of Xander who banished his armour and hugged him tightly like a brother, encircling him with his wings as a protective cacoon.

"The mortal sentence has been fulfilled. Be warned that this is what awaits any who follow his path." The Metatron said. "We leave now to carry out sentence on his soul."

Hades and Gaia gathered Tara and Willow, and the court of the Almighty vanished in a plume of fire.

Jack wondered what they should with the body.

* * *

Tara was worried. She felt ill. She had just witnessed an execution. But she was worried that they might not like that she didn't want the execution to happen. Now here she was standing in an area of pure white with some of those closest to the Almighty.

'Surreal' seemed to be her word of the day.

Suddenly she found herself confronted by God. "It's ok, there is nothing wrong with having opinions and feelings." She told Tara. "But there are rules and laws. Robert Kinsey has broken and defiled them, and must pay the price. I assure you Oz did not enjoy what he did, Xander tried to find many ways of punishing him without hurting or killing him. But Robert kept pushing."

Tara just nodded sadly. She understood that he had dug his own grave. Now he had to lie in it.

There was no flash as Kinsey arrived. He just appeared.

"Robert. You were executed on the mortal plane. Your actions have condemned your soul to eternal damnation." The Metatron said, God nodded to Michael and Xander.

They moved in and grabbed the still mute Kinsey.

Hades and Gaia moved to stand in front of Oz, Willow and Tara.

"God is going to open a portal to Hell, do not look." Hades warned them.

Willow and Oz shared a brief look, then they grabbed Tara, hugging her between them. They remembered the ordeal of Xander's excursion.

Tara could smell something vile, horrible. She wanted to vomit, to cry, to die.

She heard the sounds of terror. Sounds that she tried hard not to associate with anything.

She heard the voice of God.

"Cast him into the pit." She said.

And then it was all gone.

Gaia and Hades stepped back and turned around.

Tara saw Xander stumble and fall. His armour gone, his wings limp.

"Xander!" She cried rushing to his side, she cradled his head in her lap.

"S-s-s-sorry." He trembled. "K-k-kinda br-br-bro-ought back bad mem-m-m-mories." He stuttered.

God was there kneeling at his side as she placed a hand over his heart.

Tara saw him visibly improve, his glow reappear.

Michael knelt on the other side. "It's only been a thousand years, Xander. It took me far longer to be able to cope with it." He assured him.

"I just hope I'm ready when the time comes for the final battle." He said with a sad smile.

"You will be."

"When you go back, resume your vacation. I will halt time for a few days around your camp so you can enjoy yourselves. There will be no need for you to worry." God assured them.

* * *

The extended vacation was clearly a good idea as Tara, Oz, Willow and Xander all needed the time to recover. Witnessing an execution was one thing. Seeing a person condemned to Hell was another.

Spending time with the rest of the gang was a healing balm to their souls.

But, vacation time came to an end, and with it a request from the Scoobs.

"We want to be able to join you on some offworld missions." Buffy said.

Buffy, Faith, Church and Willow had all gotten together and having heard of the fun Oz had off world and the people he and Xander had met, they wanted in on the fun.

"It would be like a working vacation!" Willow said eagerly. "Or outsourcing."

Graham, Tara and Oz were watching to the side. Graham was dubious about his girlfriend being off world. He had read the mission reports.

Oz was not worried, he knew they could handle anything, and Xander would handle what they couldn't.

Tara was amused by their eagerness.

"I don't have a problem personally." Xander said. "I'll have to check with George and the rest of the team. It would probably be best if you arranged a rota, I know that we are setting up official agencies, but I would prefer to have one slayer or Oz on Earth at all times."

"We thought of that." Willow said producing a notebook with her usual efficiency. "Faith and Church would be one team, Buffy and Oz another, and Me and Graham the last. Tara can go whenever she wants, maybe even get Gaia to be her partner if you can't."

"Me?" Graham interrupted, clearly not aware of this part of the plan.

"You don't want to go world hopping with me?" She pouted.

"You know I'd love to, but I have to go where they send me." He reasoned.

"Xander's the boss, he can sort it out." She nodded certainly.

"Xander can sort it out?" Xander queried.

"Yes you can mister!"

Xander suddenly found himself on the receiving end of two female death glares.

"Fine, Xander can sort it out." He relented.

* * *

Willow and Graham were the first to join Xander and SG1 on their missions. Apparently the International Military body governing the Stargate Project were more than happy to accommodate the wishes of Lord Xander.

It probably didn't hurt that they had been among the witnesses to Kinsey's execution.

Their first mission was back to the planet that tried to perform witch trials on Teal'c and feared an Unas.

Daniel was not with them as he was on assignment with SG5 to work on some translations.

They decided to keep Willow's title a secret. The culture was deeply rooted in medieval Christianity. It was only the appearance of an Angel that had quelled them last time. Talk of other gods would cause major problems.

The small village was prospering. There was a Goa'uld communications system in place connecting all the villages on the planet and allowing them to contact any of Xander's ships in the area.

Willow spent much of her time investigating the environment. Xander had finally mastered the art of communing with the trees and plants, but Willow was able to make them flourish and to heal the environment.

Graham was ever present by her side along with Sam who was always curious about the Scoobies mystical abilities.

Another member of the SGC was lost on their return.

A member of SG5 was making a routine report back at Earth. But committed suicide in an outgoing gate vortex.

Xander was quick to check on Daniel and the rest of SG5, they seemed to be in good spirits but were a little too entranced by a light source. Xander ordered the device switched off and SG5 and Daniel back home. Xander quickly managed to track a strange scent to a teenage boy who had long since been abandoned.

It takes a lot for someone not to trust a being surrounded by white light and wings. Usually a good dose of evil too. So it didn't take long before the boy, Loran, told his story and confessed his self blame. Fortunately some of the soldiers from SG5 recognised what could possibly be a tale of withdrawal. Loran showed them how to access the device and between Daniel and Xander, they were able to figure out how to turn the device off.

"It could take several weeks to wean ourselves off this thing." Daniel said glumly.

"We could ask the scientists and Tara and Willow if they have a quicker solution." Xander offered.

"I'd appreciate it. Not to mention a chance to explain to Sha're why I'm going to be late. Very late." He chuckled mirthlessly.

"No worries, I'll be back with a solution in no time. Enjoy exploring in the meantime." Xander said before he vanished.

As it turned out, there was no quick fix for withdrawal. Xander made frequent trips back and forth and Sha're, Nicky and Jordy made regular calls to Daniel.

The lack of communication available between the other members of SG5 and their families made both Daniel and Xander uncomfortable. Due to security restrictions they couldn't be told about where they were or why they were late.

Xander made an appeal to the President and SG Council to allow communications that were monitored and gave no details. To at least give the families some peace of mind. Jack Ryan knew the security risks involved. But also knew the value of family. He backed Xander and managed to convince them to allow limited communications.

With SG1 out of commission and doing milk runs, Xander took the opportunity to visit his other realities. The Earth that was overrun by vampires was beginning to get back on it's feet, although the Jaffa had had to implement heavy restrictions as the humans quickly fell into rioting and rebelling.

Xander also had Delta create additional AI's to assist in the various realities. Not every reality was welcoming or needed intervention, but those that knew him gladly accepted any help their Lord would offer.

With Daniel being rescued, Jack O'Neill was not pleased when he caught Xander adding another notch on SG1's spot on the rescue board. He claimed that technically Daniel was part of SG5, so it was their rescue. Xander decided to put it up to a vote amongst the other SG teams. Much to Jack's delight, they agreed that it was an SG5 rescue only.

Whilst Daniel was stuck off world, SG1 along with Willow and Graham made several other runs to allied worlds to check on them.

* * *

Carter made several speaking engagements at the Air Force Academy. Jack and Sam still held onto Air Force Credentials as retired personnel, retired but still in the business. Willow tagged along at times to see what school was like for the military. Graham declined as he didn't feel right as an Army man in Air Force territory.

With Daniel and SG5 stuck off world, Hammond requested that Xander take SG1 and evaluate a world with a science team currently located with a view to creating a permanent research station there. Xander agreed, he also managed to convince Tara to tag along.

They were just preparing to head through, when they got a call to hold up as Sam was coming in late with a cadet she felt had potential but needed a nudge.

It didn't take long before Sam arrived with a young blonde female cadet in tow.

"Hey Sam, who's your friend?" Jack asked with a slightly smug smile.

"Cadet Jennifer Hailey, I'd like to introduce Colonel Jack O'Neill, Lieutenant Graham Miller, Willow Rosenberg, Tara McClay, Master Teal'c and Lord Xander." She said smartly. "Otherwise known as SG1… and friends. SG1, this is Cadet Jennifer Hailey. I feel she needs to see what the future holds before she gives up on the Air Force."

"Hi!" Willow said brightly.

"Er… hi?" She replied unsurely. "No disrespect intended… but… 'Master'… Teal'c?" Sam nodded at her pronunciation. "And 'Lord' Xander? Those aren't military."

"Not our military, no." Sam agreed. "That huge ring is a gateway between planets that utilizes wormholes."

Whilst Sam went on about wormhole physics and aliens, Jack signalled they should start dial out. He loved his wife… but even Charlie would run from the room when she got into her physics lecturing.

"Ladies, perhaps we could continue this on the other side?" Jack asked pointedly.

Both blondes blushed and muttered apologetic "yes sirs".

"Anymore blondes on this team and we're gonna be out numbered." Xander muttered.

"Now you know how I feel!" Willow huffed as she stomped through the gate.

"Thanks man." Graham said sarcastically as he followed the redhead.

Teal'c could be seen grinning behind him as he ran through to catch up with Graham and Willow.

The rest followed through, Jack had to give the Cadet a little push. Somewhat similar to the one he gave Sam all those years ago on her first trip through.

On their arrival through the gate, Xander's knees were assaulted by a large man in uniform.

"Oh great and powerful Lord Xander! Please save me from the evil sorcerers!" He pleaded.

Xander rolled his eyes whilst the others sniggered.

Cadet Hailey was looking completely flummoxed at the sight of a full Air Force Major on both knees pleading with another man about 'evil sorcerers'.

"Would you pack it in Griff." Xander snapped without malice.

Major Griff rose to his feet with a grin on his face.

"Seriously man, I am soooo glad you're here. That Hamilton is a menace. His ego is so big it's a wonder it fit through the gate!" Griff complained.

"Ok, let's go see the big bad scientist." Xander sighed dragging Griff along.

"Are you people really military?" Hailey asked unsurely.

Tara snickered off to the side with Teal'c. She had taken a shine to the large quiet man. He was a lot like Oz and Graham. He spoke only when needed. But when he did, it was worth it.

Sam chuckled as they started following Xander and the rest of the team.

"The SGC, Stargate Command, is a military run operation. Primarily by the United States Air Force, but with international and inter military cooperation.

"Lieutenant Miller is Army. Colonel O'Neill and myself are technically retired Air Force.

"The Colonel and I are the first officers in a new global military organisation called the United Nations Space Command."

"But what about the rest? The two girls in civvies?" She asked curiously.

Tara was dressed in her usual dress. This was a simple mission. A literal walk in the park. Willow was also dressed in a casual set of jeans and a t-shirt.

"They are aides to Xander. Who is a real Lord by British decree. But he is extra special, as are Willow and Tara." She said pointing to the two priestesses as they waved back.

"Xander is a real Angel. I have personally met the Creator. Xander's official title is Champion of the Universe."

"DAMNED COMIC BOOK TITLE!" Xander called back.

Sam ignored him. "He serves the Goddess of the Universe, Gaia. Tara and Willow are his and Gaia's Priestesses."

Hailey just stopped and stared at the Major. Not noticing the rest of the team also having stopped to watch them.

"You seriously expect me to believe this crap?" She asked incredulously. "Seriously? I mean, wormholes, planets and aliens I can grasp. But gods and angels? I think you are on some serious drugs and had better get us home so we can get you checked out." By this point she was ranting.

Jack cleared his throat. "Cadet?" He called.

Hailey turned and saw something she had completely missed.

The one Major Carter called 'Lord Xander' was now surrounded by a bright light and had a huge pair of wings. He was the spitting image of the mythical angel.

The tall winged man started to walk towards her slowly. Cadet Hailey started to shrink fearfully, she hadn't noticed the grins on everyone's faces.

"Hate to break it to ya kid, but angels are real, gods are real and so are demons and the Devil. But the good news is that the Almighty is also real." Xander grinned as he held out his hand.

"You're r-r-really an a-a-a-angel?" She stammered.

"Yep, I'm a young angel though, only two thousand years old." He said conspiratorially as he vanished his wings and glow.

The rest of the walk for Hailey was spent stumbling along in a daze with Willow and Sam on either side trying to snap her out of it.

Eventually they reached the camp. A couple of prefabs and tents.

A balding man was approaching them at a quick walk.

"Major Griff!" The man said.

"Save me My Lord." Griff muttered to Xander.

"Doctor Hamilton." Griff said politely.

"Do you realise that we still haven't received those replacement parts for the backup generator?" He demanded.

"I put the requisition in three days ago." Griff said placating.

"Well, that's not good enough. We obviously need to have a serious talk about our supply procedure." He said as though reprimanding a teenage delinquent.

"The Major's just been relieved. But would a talk between the two of you really get things here any quicker?" Xander asked.

The doctor was brought up short at that. Xander had learnt long ago that throwing the lack of logic in a threat back at someone was a great way to shut them up.

But the doctor rallied himself.

"You know you're right. Clearly he's not high enough and his inability to get results is probably why."

Willow and Tara where bristling at this. Willow had long ago learnt that if Xander liked someone they were a good person. Tara on the other hand just didn't like the meanie.

"He seems to have done a good job so far." Willow said heatedly. "He's managed not to let himself kill you."

"Indeed, I fear I may have to seek his advice as to how he accomplished such a feat." Teal'c backed her up.

Unfortunately Tara lost it in a fit of giggles at Teal'c's delivery.

Jack decided to step in before Hamilton got himself killed.

"Doctor, perhaps you could show us around. We are here to evaluate this outpost as a potential permanent research station." He said diplomatically.

The doctor seemed to preen at this. Taking it as a personal compliment. Sam just rolled her eyes.

"Yes, of course you would. We have made some inspiring discoveries here, despite Major Griff's interference." He stopped, startled as Teal'c started a low growling.

"We – erm – we have encountered an energy based life form. We managed to capture a specimen whilst you were arriving." He finished smugly.

"WHAT!" Griff roared. "I ordered you not to have direct interactions with the life forms till my men and I performed a threat assessment."

"Major?" Jack asked warily.

"The life forms visually appear as small lights capable of phasing through matter. But they can affect their environment.

"Until I could determine if they were hostile or predatory I ordered the scientists to stand down. I was actually considering calling for an assessment by Lord Xander as these things are far beyond us."

"Like that supposed 'Angel' knows anything." Hamilton snorted derisively.

Cadet Hailey's eyebrows shot through her hairline as she realised the moron had just insulted the man without realising it.

A quick jab in the side and short shake of the head by Willow and she held her tongue to see how they would handle this.

"How exactly did you capture one of these things?" Sam asked.

"Doctor Lee came up with the theory of electrifying the top and bottom plates of a container." Hamilton explained.

"You said small lights… plural?" Xander asked.

"Yeah, first there would be one, then more would appear and they would all hang around the same spot." Griff said.

"Damn." Xander muttered. "A swarm or pack. This could be bad." He said as he ran to the large prefab that served as a lab.

The rest of the team followed closely on his heels.

Xander pushed his way through the scientists to the large glass container. The little life form was buzzing around agitatedly.

"Easy there bud, I'm gonna let you out, just hold on." He said softly.

"You will not!" Hamilton declared.

"Stand down Doctor. You are in a lot of trouble at the moment." Jack ordered.

"He is about to release our only specimen." Hamilton argued.

"Alright buddy, I've had enough!" Willow said angrily poking him in the chest. "You are a rude and arrogant man! That –" She said pointing at Xander. "Is Lord Xander! That is Tara, his High Priestess. I am Willow, Gaia's High Priestess. I will personally be ensuring that you never leave Earth again and that you never rise above lab assistant!" She ranted.

Hamilton was looking somewhat non-plussed. He was desperately trying to think of a counter argument.

"Save it Doc. I'll be submitting a similar report." Jack said not willing to suffer more hot air from this windbag.

Xander meanwhile had released the small life form and had suddenly transformed himself into one of them.

"Wow!" Hailey exclaimed. "How did he do that?" She asked.

"He wasn't always an angel. He was originally an empowered human. Changing into any life form native to this universe was one of those powers." Sam explained.

"Wow." She said again.

"Right there with ya kid." Jack nodded.

"Indeed, he has yet to cease to amaze me." Teal'c agreed.

Xander reappeared at this point, the life form zipping off.

"Ok, he's gonna forgive us for the torture and kidnapping." Xander said. "He also said that as long as this lot don't come back, his people will be happy to have us here."

"It actually told you all that?" Hailey asked in awe.

"Well, not exactly." Xander shrugged. "They don't have the sort of intelligence we have. They don't communicate like we do either. They have simple behaviours like most animals. Live, eat, mate, survive. That sort of thing. And certain things to communicate like, danger, family, safe, mine.

"I can just interpret these things to mean more and to garner their intentions." He explained.

"So a translator…"

"Would be pretty useless if you couldn't understand what the jumble of words meant." He finished for her.

Xander turned to Griff. "If you want I can recommend you for command of the future outpost, the little guy was quite taken with you when I told him you were essentially fighting for him." Xander offered.

"Sounds like a nice position, but I have the baby on the way." Griff said apologetically.

"So? This will be a fully equipped base. Like a colony. You could bring them here. You're kid could be the first US citizen born off world." He grinned.

"I-I-I'd have to discuss it with the wife." Griff said trying to comprehend the turn of events.

"Smart man." Jack grinned. He then looked very sheepish as he smiled at his own wife.

But Sam was grinning at Willow. "See how well I've trained him? And with only a few months."

This set Willow and Tara off on a fit of giggles.

Xander turned to the scientists. "Gentlemen, go pack you're gear and shut down all experiments and equipment. Pending a full inquiry you are all confined to the SGC. Major Griff, round up your men, it's time for you to report home, you carry on and we'll follow with the scientists." Xander ordered.

The site was left standing for now, it would be used as temporary accommodation and storage whilst the colony was built.

Whilst they were waiting they answered Cadet Hailey's questions. Everything from wormhole physics to how Sam and Jack could be married.

* * *

As they assembled in the debriefing room, the Cadet asked the biggest question.

"How could I join the UNSC?"

"At the moment, because the Stargate and Aliens are classified, we offer positions to qualified soldiers. Eventually there will be training facilities. But because of the nature of the UNSC it will always comprise elements of the Army, Navy and Air Force." Xander explained.

"In other words. Ace out of the Academy and we'll see to it you get a shot at the UNSC." Sam said.


	38. Chapter 38

It was an excited Cadet that returned to the Air Force academy. Xander spoke with the SG Council and Hammond about having various countries military academies keep an eye out for potential candidates for a UNSC academy. Even if it meant informing the academy heads of what the project was about.

Sam and Willow had both gotten her email so they could discuss science, Xander promised to try and get her some more field time through the gate. No one wanted to lose a cadet with such potential. Jennifer Hailey was not willing to let them down.

Daniel and SG5 returned from their medical isolation. They were all given a week off to reconnect with their families.

Sam was due to send a MALP through to investigate a planet from the Ancient's repository from when Jack had his head sucking experience.

"What's up Teal'c?" Xander asked.

Both he and Jack had noticed Teal'c was a little tense.

"We know nothing about this world or what we will find there. I merely feel the need to be cautious." He frowned.

"The base is on alert." Cortana assured him. She was standing on the consoles that lined the gate ship control room.

"Proceeding with MALP transit." Sam said professionally.

"MALP en route." Walter reported.

There was a pause as they waited for the MALP to arrive.

"Receiving MALP telemetry." Walter said.

"Nothing resembles anything that we know about the Ancients. Architecture, technology, writing." Daniel noted.

"Maybe what we're seeing came after the Ancients left?" Sam offered.

"Looks pretty desolate to me." Xander said.

The view was of a destroyed city. It was relatively dark.

"Looks like weapons damage to me." Jack said.

"What the hell?" Sam muttered.

"Since when can MALP's fly?" Jack asked.

"Since someone threw them?" Xander shrugged.

"I do not believe we are in control of the MALP." Teal'c said.

"What was your first clue?" Willow grinned from where she was leaning against Graham in the corner.

"The flying." Teal'c grinned back.

"Xander, I'm being invaded." Cortana said worriedly.

"Need help?" Xander asked.

"Might do, it's slicing through my security." She said starting to get frantic.

"Delta, get in there and help her. I'll get Church." Xander said teleporting out.

"Faith is gonna be pissed." Willow said wincing. "They were going out to the park today."

"Faith? At a park?" Jack asked disbelievingly. Faith still oozed her biker chick persona.

"Don't worry, she'll still be dressed as her usual slutty self." Willow grinned. She and Faith would tease each other about their outfits. Tara was often dragged in as well with her skirts and corsets.

"I said I'm sorry Faith, but if we don't stop this there might not be a park for you to go to." Xander said as he reappeared with the couple in tow.

This did shut her up though.

"Better get in there Church, they might need the help." Xander said.

"I hate doing this." Church grumbled.

Xander snorted. "No you don't, it's the only place you get to wear your armour."

"Who told! You didn't?" He said turning to Faith.

"Course she didn't, Delta did."

"Little squealer." Church growled.

"Just get in there and save the day." Xander ordered.

As Church dropped into a chair and slipped out of his body Faith wandered over to Willow and Graham to find out what was going on.

Xander however was focused on the connected gate.

"Ok, I don't like that gate being connected. Can you close it?" He asked Sam.

A few keystrokes and a curse or two later and the answer was no.

"Right, Jack, Teal'c, once I'm through try a manual shut down. Willow, if that doesn't work try your mojo. Last resort eject the gate." He ordered.

"Why are you going through?" George asked.

"Find out why we were invaded. Last thing we need is this coming back to haunt us." Xander said as headed out of the room and into the cargo hold that held the gate.

"So who's invading now?" Faith asked Willow and Graham as they were waiting for the AI's and Xander to return, Jack and Teal'c had successfully performed a manual shutdown.

"No idea, some sort of alien AI." Willow shrugged.

"And just what did we do to piss them off?" She asked.

"We sent a MALP through."

"And what… it gave 'em the finger?" Faith asked with her usual class.

Graham couldn't help but snort a laugh.

"No, but it did fly." He said.

"And that's bad?"

"Faith, MALP's don't fly, we don't build them to fly." Willow explained kindly.

"Huh, seems like something a recon device _should_ do." She pondered. "What if it comes across a wall, big ditch, molten lava… planets are big places, do you really think the thing in the way is gonna affect the rest of the planet or just the space around the gate?" She said as though disgusted by the concept of a ground based MALP.

"Good question." Graham nodded approvingly. "Willow and I are finishing up our tour today anyway, you and Church are up next. Why don't you bring that up with Xander and Major Carter." Graham still struggled with calling superior officers by their first names.

"Uh… maybe I should just keep my big mouth shut." Faith said blushing as she realised she had been ranting.

"No, he's right. Xander's not the only one who comes up with common sense ideas that make the rest of us look like idiots." Willow agreed.

Willow saw the reluctance in Faith's eyes so left her no choice.

"If you don't, I will and I'll be telling everyone who will listen it was your idea." She said donning the infamous 'Resolve Face'.

"Fine. I'll tell." She sulked. "So you'll be back on the Sunnyhell beat?"

"Sort of. Xander has decided to roll with Graham's idea of approaching the world's religious leaders. He is going to be dragging myself and Tara along to introduce us at the same time. Major Davis and Graham will be representing the Stargate and Initiative projects respectively."

"What about the rest of the world leaders?" Faith asked.

"Their on the agenda after the religious leaders." Graham said.

* * *

It only took Xander about half an hour to return.

"Ok, they thought we were trying to kill them. They thought I was trying to do the same. Apparently the MALP radio signals were killing them. I have ordered a quarantine around the planet and we need to stay off it." He said.

"No treaty or alliance?" Jack asked.

"Nope. Just a plain old 'you stay away from us and we stay away from you' deal. We are just too dangerous to them."

"What about the thing they sent through?" Sam asked.

"It's an AI. I'll get it to store itself in my armour and take it home." Xander shrugged.

"We haven't heard back from Church and the others yet." Sam pointed out.

"I was just waiting for an idea on what to do." Cortana said as she suddenly appeared. "Cornered it fairly easily. Alpha got a little pissy at it though." She grumbled.

"When does he not get pissy?" Xander asked curiously.

"Hey! That's my boyfriend!" Faith cried defending Church.

"Staying on track, Cortana could you convince it to enter Xander's armour?" George asked tiredly. He needed to get rid of this thing so he could lift quarantine and contact his superiors.

"I'm on it sir." She responded smartly.

Xander donned his armour and waited patiently.

"I really hope you don't intend to make me the teams computer guy when we join you offworld." Church grumbled as he slipped back into his body.

"Nah, you know me, I tend to shoot the computers." Jack quipped. "Or stand back and give quiet encouragement to Sam." He amended noticing the glare he was getting from the aforementioned wife.

"Dad is holding the intruder in place within the suit as it didn't want to cooperate." Cortana reported as she reappeared.

"Right. Be right back!" Xander said as he teleported out.

* * *

The holidays had reached their last week. But none of the Scoobs were heading back to school or College. Faith was testing out. It simply wasn't logical to couple the stress of fighting every night with the stress of school and college.

Xander was fine with this. Joyce as well, as she saw in the end how bad educational life was for them.

Giles made a few phone calls though, he was aware that Xander was essentially funding the group. Xander was very wealthy thanks to the AI's and various patents. But Giles didn't think it was fair.

Xander's objections were stopped before they started when The Queen summoned him and told him that it was high time the Council fulfilled its responsibilities. She spoke with the President and they were soon placed on the Initiative payroll with an allowance from the Council.

They had also decided to move to LA. Buffy had managed a few meetings with Liam, Cordelia and Oz were present and Cordelia's tact, or lack thereof, managed to ease things along. They were unlikely to be friends, but they might be able to work together.

Moving to LA meant that they were off the Hellmouth. Empty houses where being bought by Xander and bulldozed. The land over the Hellmouth itself was now a slab of concrete with a trinium slab beneath that. It had also been blessed by Xander. Current estimates had Sunnydale vanishing into a military base within two years.

One of Xander's anti-vampire implementations was replacing street lamp bulbs with a UV variation. Vampire's could no longer travel the streets at night. There were also plans to build an artificial stream or moat around the town, which would also be blessed by Xander. In other words, the Hellmouth was to be fully secured against vampires and most demons.

* * *

The meetings with the religious leaders began with the Pope. Xander had decided that the best way was the flashy way. He had himself teleported into the Pope's bedchambers with his wings out and lights on. What annoyed him was that Gaia made him dress in clothing that was more in keeping with what Joshua would have worn.

Angels tended to wear what they wanted. The Metatron preferred slacks and shirts, Michael enjoyed combats and sweaters. Xander did not enjoy his knees in the open breeze.

That said, his reception was fairly well received. The Pope was admonished not to reveal what he had seen and experienced but to await the arrival of the mortal party. Once Tara, Willow, Graham and Paul Davis arrived Xander would introduce Gaia and then explain the true structure of the universe and existence… and that Gaia was a god.

This had not gone down well as Xander had allowed the Pope to include several high ranking officials. Several had gone straight for the Holy Water and they wound up with one pissed off and wet angel, god, two high priestesses, a major and a lieutenant.

When this had no effect the Pope himself had pulled out a cross and attacked Xander with it whilst the others grabbed various ornamental weapons off the walls and started attacking.

At this point Willow was beyond pissed and moving into psychotically enraged. The weapons vanished from their hands as did the clothes from their bodies.

A multitude of elderly male flesh was not something Xander had wanted to see.

Willow had decided that she was not happy with her, Gaia and Tara's non-consensual entry into the Vatican's Wet t-shirt contest and had decided to level the playing field.

Tara on the other hand took an active approach to the soaked clothing she and the rest of the party were wearing and dried them all off.

Graham and Paul were just sitting there wishing they had been allowed to keep their weapons, next time they weren't giving them up.

"Was that really necessary?" Gaia demanded tersely.

"Stay back demon, we will not succumb to your lies and temptations!" One of the braver cardinals warned as the rest of them surrounded the Pope.

"Sirs, please, if we could just sit down, we would be happy to explain." Paul tried.

"Explain! What is there to explain? You bring unholy creatures into the presence of the Holy Father!" He retorted. He was the only English speaking member of the Vatican present, the rest had no idea what was being said by anyone other than Gaia or Xander.

"Do you know what happened to the last person that called my husband a demon?" Gaia asked with a growl. "The Archangel Michael sliced him from top to toe."

"I wouldn't bother Gaia, they wouldn't believe Michael was really an Angel if he arrived in full wings and armour." Xander scowled. "They probably think he actually looks like how he is depicted in murals and whatnot."

Xander strode over to Paul and Graham and placed a hand on their shoulders. "Ladies, we are leaving."

Tara and Willow grabbed hold and they vanished with Gaia following.

They landed in Gaia and Xander's living room where they collapsed into the chairs.

"Lose the ties at least boys." Xander instructed the two men in dress uniforms.

Willow and Tara vanished upstairs to change into some of Gaia's more comfortable clothes. The goddess maybe able to make her own clothing, but she was a woman and enjoyed her shopping.

"I'm sorry Xander, that was a really bad idea I wish I never had." Graham said morosely.

"Nah, don't worry about it. The idea was sound, but I think it was the execution that let us down." Xander said waving his hand dismissively. "I'll take a run at them again later but I'll go in more aggressively."

"It was a lost cause from the start." Gaia said. "Many of the higher ranks aspire for power and not service for the almighty. The Pope get's called 'The Holy Father' and has people kissing his hands and kneeling before him.

"Other religions are just as bad. They deify mortals and make their words holy. They even start wars based on these lies."

"So was there any point in us trying this?" Paul asked.

"Of course! We made our presence known, they know we exist and word will likely spread behind closed doors."

"But they won't be nicest of words." Graham said with a wince.

"Meh, let them judge us by our actions, not our words." She said dismissively.

"Still, they cause me problems and I am dropping them off on the Nox." Xander warned.

* * *

It was during that last week of the holidays that SG1 took some time off before Faith and Church joined them for their tour of duty.

It was also the week that they met Dracula.

Buffy and Oz were patrolling the cemetery in a local town. When the dark clad figure materialised in front of them.

"Cool." Oz commented.

"You are very impressive." He commented with a thick Eastern European accent as he stalked Buffy.

"And you are very dead… well, undead… soon to be dust in fact." Buffy quipped.

"I think not." The man said casually with a small smirk.

"Just a wild guess here, but… Dracula?" Oz asked.

"But of course." He said with a slight incline of his head. "You may go now. I have no need for you." He said dismissively.

Oz looked pretty amused by that.

"Don't you go talking to my boyfriend like that!" Buffy said outraged.

"He is clearly not worthy of you. A mere mortal. You and I will have eternity." Dracula said dramatically.

"God you must love the sound of your voice." Buffy said rolling her eyes.

"Personally I prefer the Sesame Street version." Xander said as he walked out from behind a tree startling Buffy and Dracula.

Oz, who had whispered the call for Xander merely nodded at him. Buffy was a little miffed.

"Xander! I can deal with this, he's just a little 'ol vamp." She whined.

"Unfortunately he has some tricks Buff. You can stake him, but he'll come back." Xander warned her, Delta had confirmed Oz's suspicions that research showed he was more than an average vamp.

"Oh." Buffy looked uncertain at that. "Ok, have fun, I'll enjoy the floor show."

"Why do all these mortals think they can defeat me? The Great Count Dracula!"

"Gotta agree with Buffy on this one, he loves the sound of his voice." Xander grimaced.

"You will make a fine servant in this New World." Dracula said menacingly.

Buffy was getting a deep desire to bang her head against the tree she was leaning on. Who called it the New World anymore?

"Would you just finish him! I want to crawl into bed with my honey!" She cried out.

"Yikes, pissed off slayer." Xander said rubbing his hands together. "Ok Vlad. I'll give you two options… you can count right? I mean you have the sho-"

"XANDER!" Buffy screamed as her best friend rambled on.

"Sorry. Ok, one. Oz here, the Hound of God, rips you to pieces."

Oz morphed into his wolf form and stalked up next to Xander growling.

Dracula had a distinct look of fear on his face.

"Two, that comes after one by the way, I can slice your head off with my heavenly sword."

At this point Xander erupted in a blast of light and wings grasping his sword loosely in one hand.

Buffy discovered that vampires could wet their pants in fear.

"EWWWW!" She cried.

"What's it going to be Vlad?" Xander asked.

Unfortunately the Great Count Dracula was fairly catatonic with fear as he beheld the heavenly glory of the angelic being before him.

Oz gave short grunt and stalked off to Buffy changing back as he passed Xander.

Xander sighed and decapitated the livi-unliving legend. "I have to do all the work these days." He said theatrically.

"Thanks for the assist man." Oz said as Xander approached them.

"No prob, I was just heading home for the night." Xander said. "Tara and Gaia have been watching lots of chick flicks. Said they needed some testosterone to balance their day out." He grinned.

Buffy slapped his shoulder in disgust.

"Mom wants us to look after Dawn for the next few days. She has a childcare conference that she and Sha're are going to. They want to enjoy the luxury of a hotel." Buffy said rolling her eyes.

"Cool." Xander said. "One question. Who's Dawn?"

"You don't know Dawn?" Oz asked concerned. Buffy had been about rip Xander a new one for making bad jokes, but Oz had noticed his friends seriousness.

"Never heard of 'em." He said shaking his head.

"Dawn! The brat! Bane of my existence! Pain in my bloody arse! My sister!" Buffy ranted.

"Ok, first of all… 'Bloody Arse'?" Xander asked bemused.

"Blame Giles." Buffy grunted. As Oz smirked.

"Fine. But Buffy, you're an only child." Xander said kindly.

"Gotta go with Buff on this one, and not because she's my girlfriend. You should know Dawn. You used to babysit her. Always telling her she is too young to join SG1?" Oz said worriedly.

"Gaia!" Xander called out a little desperately.

"What's up? We've been waiting for you!" Gaia said as she and Tara appeared.

"Sorry, had to dispose of Dracula. Do you know someone named Dawn?"

"Yes."

"No."

Gaia and Tara looked at each other.

"We saw her this morning." Tara said to the frowning goddess.

"I… don't think so." Gaia said shaking her head.

"I've got a really bad feeling about this." Oz said.

"Ok, let's go meet this Dawn. If Gaia and I still haven't figured it out, we'll go see God." Xander decided as he grabbed Oz and Buffy by the shoulders.

* * *

"Xander! Anything wrong?" Joyce asked as he appeared in her living room with Buffy and Oz. Tara and Gaia following shortly.

"Mom, is Dawn around?" Buffy asked off the bat.

"In her room. Why?"

Xander explained as Buffy ran upstairs to grab her sister.

"Gaia and I have no idea who Dawn is, we need to figure this out pretty quick."

"I'll go call Giles, Jenny and Willow." Oz said as he wandered into the kitchen.

Buffy came down with a grumbling Dawn in tow.

"Whoa, lots'a green." Xander remarked. He no longer had his demon vision as an angel. He could simply see what he needed to. And right now he could see a young girl with a bright green glow.

"Hey Xander!" Dawn said happily, she always perked up when Xander was around. She was determined to become his third wife. She already liked Gaia and Tara and they would be a great family. Of course only her and her diary knew this.

"Gaia, what's wrong?" Joyce asked as she saw the very angry look on the goddesses face.

"My key." She growled.

"Hun, what's wrong?" Xander asked warily as he took his wife's shoulders and turned her to him.

"That is my key!" She said louder as she pointed at Dawn. "It was stolen from me millions of years ago. I could never find it. GOD!" She screamed at the ceiling.

"Do calm down Gaia." The Metatron said wearily as he appeared with the Almighty.

"I found my key… some one has been playing with souls and they stuck one in my key." She said angrily to the Creator.

As far as the mortals were concerned Gaia and God were having a silent staring contest. But the Metatron explained the situation for them.

"It seems that someone has messed with the fabric of reality. Before today, Dawn Summers never existed. She has been created by unauthorised means." At this point Gaia broke down in tears and Xander and Tara vanished with her.

The humans in the room were very scared and worried. They had never seen Gaia cry. Angry, worried, sad, yes. But never actually crying and distraught. God sighed and walked over to Dawn and pulled her into a hug.

"The Creator is the only one who can safely create a soul or alter reality like this. The people who did this have caused great destruction. They have caused a cascade effect. All realities but this one have now been erased. Which is why Gaia broke down."

There was a collective gasp from everyone, including Giles and Jenny who had just arrived.

"Had She made the changes there would be no problem. She has the skills and power to affect only what is necessary. But whoever did this simply created a ripple effect in order to make the changes permeate the entire reality. All realities are connected to this one due to the Hellmouth. The effect wiped out the connection and as a result, the realities and all those who lived in them are now gone."

Dawn was crying quietly in God's arms. She wasn't real. She caused the destruction of multiple realities. She was a monster.

God suddenly held her at arms length and shook her head as the Voice spoke for her.

"Not your fault Dawnie. You are who you are because someone made you. I have given Xander, Gaia and the other heavenly beings copies of the appropriate memories. They will know the difference, but they will know what you know. You also have my blessing." The Metatron said as God smiled at her.

"Who did this to my little girl?" Joyce asked tearfully as she took her daughter back and hugged her tightly, Buffy joined them.

"The mortals involved are nearly all gone, the last is on his way here. But it was the Fallen that powered the spell and stole the Key in the first place."

"Why did they do this?" Oz asked. He needed to know if there was something more coming.

"You will find out soon enough." The Voice said.

Buffy growled, she hated cryptic and vague. But God just kissed her cheek and patted her head with a smile.

"Gaia, Xander and Tara will be gone for sometime, as will Willow. Michael has retrieved her and informed Graham. They will need time to cope with this loss. Hades is informing General Hammond as we speak."

God walked over to Oz and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"She just wants to borrow him for a bit." The Metatron grinned as they vanished.

* * *

God brought Oz to the holy place, Xander and the others weren't there but he knew they were safe.

"A couple of things my young Hound." God said as she made a couch for them to sit on. "First, you need to have a Champions powers as Xander no longer qualifies. So that means teleportation and a gift with languages. Of course, travel between realities is no longer necessary. Any questions about that?"

"Does this make me a holy man like Xander?"

"Yes, so blessings can be performed by you, also you have the demon vision as Gaia calls it." She said rolling her eyes at Gaia's antics.

"Does this mean I am no longer your Hound?" He frowned.

"No, you're still my Hound. I have decided not to give you the shape shifting ability that Xander has as it is important for you to remain my Hound first and foremost.

"This brings me to my second topic. You are supposed to be the _first_ of the new Hounds of God. You need to start building a pack."

"I have a pack." Oz said referring to Buffy and the Scoobies.

"Yes, but I think you need to induct them into the Pack properly."

"Won't that be unfair if I was to say, induct someone like Robert Makepeace but not his wife and children? He'd outlive them."

God gave a little chuckle. "Oz, you're building a pack, not an army. A pack has fighters yes, but it also has cubs and mothers."

"How will I know the right people to choose?" Oz asked.

"I chose you because I trust you Oz. We won't be holding your hand for this, but yes, you will make mistakes. But as I told Xander, I'll still love you. Making mistakes is not as important as trying to correct those mistakes."

Oz swallowed nervously. This was a lot of pressure.

"It's really not that big a deal. It's the same as when you choose your friends. You already hold responsibility for the Slayers and Xander's interests on Earth amongst the supernatural.

"But, I will tell you this. Buffy and Faith will be the first members of your pack. By making them Hounds, you will completely end the Slayer line. Which is good as it means no more little girls will be forced to fight, and they won't have a demonic essence in them." She said scowling. "You are the Alpha Wolf. All the other Hounds will submit to your commands so you have some control over them and you alone have the ability to withdraw the blessing and return them to their mortal existence."

"I'll talk to them and we'll sort it out. I'll also talk to the Queen and sort out the Council." Oz said.

"Good. You are in charge for a few months. But in a dire emergency Xander will be available." God told him. "At this moment Xander is waging war against the Fallen. This was the last straw, they will be cast in to Hell – And don't worry, the Host of Heaven are right there with him." She assured him.

* * *

Oz spoke with Buffy that night and within the hour there were two Hounds of God. By the following day there were three, and the Slayer line was ended.

He gave both girls strict orders to spend as much time as possible in wolf form. It would be a completely alien concept to them.

Faith and Church also began their tour with SG1. Thor arrived on their first day with a gift for Delta, Cortana and Church.

"I'm afraid Delta is away with Xander, we don't know when he will return though." General Hammond explained as they greeted the Asgard Commander in the briefing room.

"That is understandable General Hammond. I believe Lord Xander and Delta would want me to deliver the gifts to Cortana and Church regardless."

There was the familiar transport flash and two seven foot pods arrived.

"Lord Xander requested that we build two new bodies for the full AI's as he called them. We understand that Church's body is fully functional, but still a mechanical vehicle.

"We were able to create biological bodies that function as humans do, but contain Spartan cybernetics. The brain has been replaced by a biological computer that the AI's can integrate with."

As he spoke the pods opened to reveal a male and female body. The male body was identical to Church's current body, the female was a fair bit shorter at 5'7" with blonde hair.

"It should be noted that these implants were only possible as they were introduced as we built them and require the biological computer. We have yet to find a way to place them in existing humans.

"Please feel free to try the bodies on."

There was a bit of a crash as Church's body fell to the floor as he rushed to get into his new body.

Cortana was less noisy, but no slower.

"Must be a digital Christmas." Jack quipped.

"This feels… great!" Church said happily. "I feel like I always thought I should if I took my armour off at Blood Gultch."

Church stepped out of the pod only to realise the sheet covering him was not held on by any means. Thus the assembled humans and Asgard got complete display.

Not that Faith minded too much.

"Just remember Hot Stuff, next month I'm legal." She said slyly.

"Yeah… technically I guess I'm a virgin." Church frowned.

George, who was turning red, cleared his throat. "Cortana, how does your body… fit?" He asked the still immobile figure.

There was a slight shaking of Cortana's body as if she was trying to wake up.

"Church, think you could go in and give her hand? It is her first time being corporeal." Jack explained.

A few minutes later and Cortana was properly integrated. Apparently she had been overwhelmed by simply having a corporeal awareness, just the feel of the sheet on her skin was new to her.

"Wow, it's all so… different. Can I still go back into the system?" She asked Thor.

"Of course, you should also be able to access the system from your body via the implants."

"I wish Daddy was here to see this." She said wistfully.

"Just think, you get to help him when it's his turn." Jack said kindly. Despite her appearance as the legendary Cortana of Halo lore, this Cortana was her own person and still quite young, she was often treated as a little sister or niece by SGC personnel.

"Lord Xander and Lord Oz have both spent time to give us detailed schematics of their armour and plasma sword. We have also supplied you with two copies of the armour as both Cortana and Church can use them fully."

"No luck on Spartan armour for us norms?" Jack asked hopefully.

"We are currently investigating a method of neural connectivity that will not require the implants. But even if that is successful, the armour will be substantially weaker than the real versions as humans could not handle them with out the bone enhancements." Thor explained.

"If it's an improvement over what we have, I'll take it." Jack said.

* * *

Faith and Church's first official mission with SG1 was annoying for both of them.

Faith was bored out her skull and Church was fed up at being used for the one thing he didn't want to be used for. The computer guy.

Teal'c, Jack and Faith decided to wander off and see the sights. Faith stayed in Wolf form as per Oz's instructions. Daniel was far too engrossed in translations to care about anything else. Which left Sam to work on the external workings whilst Church went through the program.

Church finished up his investigations. It was pretty much a doomsday device. Or it would be if used wrong. He entered his body only to find Sam was out cold.

He immediately called out for Jack and tried to rouse Sam. He could tell she was physically fine from his internal sensors, but that still left the mystery of why she was unconscious.

"What happened?" Jack demanded as the three fighters skidded in, Faith already back in human form.

"No clue. I came out of the device and found her like this." Church frowned. "Nothing physically wrong with her though."

"Teal'c get Daniel and get to the gate. Dial out and tell 'em we're coming." Jack ordered.

It didn't take long for the team to make it back to the Gate Ship. With no obvious reason for her collapse, Janet assigned rest.

After the briefing SG1 was put on leave, much to Jack's delight as he was looking forward to spending time with his wife. Sha're was a little put out though that Daniel was assigned to translate the device. He made sure to get home early each night though. Joyce and Sha're were both feeling a little lonely at the day care centre without Gaia. Usually she ran the place with them. Even the kids were asking for her.

Faith and Church were also bored stiff. They headed back to LA where they could at least join the others in kicking vampire ass.

* * *

Sam found herself being stalked. She was not pleased about this and neither was Jack. This guy was clearly following her. As if waiting for her to be alone. But she was always out with either Jack or Charlie, but they were never followed themselves.

"Jack I really don't like this. You know these guys can get worse, Charlie could be at risk." She said as they sat in their living room.

"I know." Jack said as he hugged her. "Look, we'll get Buffy to take him in. In the meantime, we'll have to get you an additional stalker."

Oz knew who he was supposed to track. The guy was not very subtle. He would follow at a respectable distance, but he never went anywhere that Sam didn't.

The interesting part was when the guy vanished.

"He went invisible?" Sam asked as they sat in the briefing room.

"No, actually seemed to… go elsewhere."

"So we may never catch him?" Jack asked glumly.

"Never said that." Oz said simply. "Just need to get to know him. Then I can go to him."

* * *

"They make a cute couple." Oz remarked as he came to stand calmly next to the stalker in the mall parking lot.

The stalker was surprised at being approached. No one usually approached him.

"Erm, yes. I suppose they do. I wonder if they are forever." He said trying to be casual.

Oz chuckled. "On this plane of existence, very few things are."

The stalker sighed. "She is very beautiful, she has an amazing mind too."

"You know her?"

"Yes, but she does not know me." He said.

"Oh, I'm Oz by the way." He said holding out his hand.

"My name is Orlin." He said holding up his hands as if to ward him off.

That was when Oz noticed that part of his clothing had phased through the vehicle behind him.

"Huh." Oz muttered as he poked through Orlin's shoulder.

After a brief look of shock Orlin vanished.

So Oz followed.

"So, why are you following my friend Sam?" Oz asked as he walked up to Orlin.

Orlin had a complete look of shock on his face.

Oz found himself in a ruined city. He was fairly certain that this was the planet where Sam collapsed.

"How did you find me?" He suddenly straightened up as if realising something. "Did _they_ send you?"

Oz frowned and wondered who they were.

"Nope, unless the 'they' is Sam and Jack. They saw you were stalking Sam. Asked me to look into it. And now I find you aren't from Earth and possibly aren't human. So, why?"

"I saw her examining the weapon. She figured out how to power it despite the fact that I removed the power source to disable it. I find her… intriguing." Orlin admitted.

"Ok, that's fine. Many people find her intriguing. But it's not polite to follow someone like that." Oz said firmly.

"I just wanted to connect with someone." Orlin practically pleaded. "I have been banished here for centuries."

"Harsh." Oz muttered. "You could have approached anyone on SG1, or approached them as a whole, but you fixated on Sam. That's bad. Either you behave yourself and leave her and her friends and family alone or I will have to take action."

"You may have some power, but you couldn't hurt me." Orlin sulked.

"I don't have to. I have plenty of people who would gladly help out." Oz said simply.

They were suddenly joined by three glowing beings. Oz knew instantly that these were the same beings as Oma Desala. That was enough to send his hackles up after their last encounter.

"We come in peace." The middle being, a female said. "We have observed your conversation with Orlin and believe that we should offer to aid you in ensuring his compliance and behaviour."

"At what price?" Oz asked warily. He had no intention of anyone entering Hell again.

"No price, Oma Desala still lives in fear over what she was forced to watch, we have no desire to experience what she did." She said with a shudder. "We will return him to his corporeal human state. He will remain here on this plane of existence. He will now work to assist your people in the translations. At the end of his life, if he has learnt his lesson well enough, we will offer him the chance to ascend again."

"That's not fair!" Orlin raged.

"Neither are your actions against the humans." The left being, another female, said.

"What was his original crime?" Oz asked.

"He provided the original inhabitants of this planet with the technology to build the weapon to defend against the Goa'uld. They in turn tried to use it to conquer other planets." The middle being explained.

"A tough choice, but we do need to accept the consequences of our choices." Oz mused. "Will he retain his current knowledge?"

"Yes, but not any of the other physical capabilities we had before we shed our bodies. He will be at the same evolutionary stage as the humans of today, with a slightly enhanced brain." The final being, a man, said.

"Then return him to human form, I will place him with Lord Xander's science teams. He will have the opportunity to try and live a successful life as a human."

The three beings turned to each other privately to discuss Oz's proposal.

"You have no right!" Orlin said angrily. "You handed down your punishment centuries ago and I have fulfilled it."

"But you have learnt very little from it." The middle being told him sadly. "Perhaps we were wrong to banish you to solitary here. There is no place for you among the ascended at this time. Perhaps Lord Oz's suggestion will better serve you."

With no further words they left. Orlin fell to the ground breathing heavily.

Oz placed a hand on Orlin's shoulders and teleported to Sayel, he would ensure that he would be handled appropriately until he could be placed with the scientists.

* * *

General Hammond was having a very tiresome meeting. Some man called Colonel Simmons who wore no uniform, was demanding that they activate and test the weapon.

"That device could help defend this planet from any invasion." Simmons said pointedly.

"It could also wipe out all life on this planet." George said tiredly. They had been going round in circles for about half an hour. "We simply don't know what it's true function is. Until I am told for sure, it simply won't happen without orders from the President."

He was very relieved when Oz walked in.

"O-Lord Oz." He said quickly catching himself. He was so used to the two powerful young men he often forgot to use their titles in public.

"George." Oz said with a warm smile. Oz was always grateful for the respect the General gave him, he also knew he was regarded as one of the most powerful beings in the Universe, he always greeted friends informally, wanting people to know how much he cared for them.

"How did it go?" George asked.

"Caught the guy, an ascended, like Oma Desala."

"That-that woman who caused Xander to go through Hell!" George said in disgust.

"Yeah, but some of the others came down, very respectful. They helped sort out the situation. He's now human again, I sent him to Sayel to work with the Science teams."

"That man is wanted for crimes in the United States! We demand that he be handed over." Simmons said angrily.

Oz just raised an eyebrow and looked at George questioningly.

"Lord Oz, this is Colonel Simmons. Colonel Simmons, this is _Lord_ Oz and I would remind you that he is a dignitary and that you should watch yourself around him." George said barely concealing his rage.

"Be that as it may," Simmons said clearly not caring, "we demand the release of the being in question."

"On what grounds?" Oz asked turning to fully face the irate Colonel.

"Crimes on US soil." He said certainly.

"What crimes?"

"Stalking for starters, I am sure he is guilty of espionage too." He said offhandedly.

"Well, first of all, no one has filed charges, second you don't have any rights to demand that sort of thing as the crimes he committed were against Lord Xander's people."

"On US soil."

"Which you can't prove."

"But you intend to charge him with anyway?" Simmons said questioningly.

"No, no charges. Just gonna try and get him to live a little."

"I suggest, Colonel, that if you truly intend to request extradition of this individual from Lord Xander's custody, then you go through the appropriate channels." George said trying to end the merry-go-round.

Simmons seemed to deflate slightly at that, but then rallied.

"Fine. But that test will go ahead as planned. I have orders from the Joint Chiefs." He said slamming down his papers.

George looked through the papers. This was wrong. Why would they go ahead with this?

"Damn, the papers are authentic." George sighed.

"What test?" Oz asked.

"That is classified." Simmons said haughtily.

"Lord Oz has clearance higher than the President." George said with no small annoyance at the Colonel. "The planet where Major Carter collapsed, they want to test the device there, they assume it's a weapon." He explained to Oz.

"Ahh." Oz said understanding. "But no." He shrugged.

"No?" Simmons asked confused.

"No, you will not test the weapon. It is to be destroyed. Effective immediately." Oz said leaning back casually against the wall.

"Despite your titles and displays of power, you have no say over what the United States can and can not do. The test will go ahead." He said.

Oz just sighed and activated his com link.

"This is Lord Oz."

_"Lord Oz, this is the Gate Ship."_ Came the response.

"Effective immediately, all travel to…"

"P4X-636." George supplied.

"P4X-636 is banned. Recall any personnel currently there."

_"Understood, no one is currently there so we will simply ban travel to that location."_

"Lord Oz out."

"That is unacceptable. You have no authority over US personnel." Simmons raged.

"No, I don't, but those were Lord Xander's personnel, stationed on Lord Xander's ship using Lord Xander's Stargate. I have plenty of authority over that." Oz said confidently. "Now, I suggest you leave. I doubt the President or the other world leaders will be pleased to learn that the US has been laying claims to the Stargate and weaponry."

Simmons seemed to rage on the spot, but eventually realised it was a lost caused and stormed out.

"I apologise Lord Oz, I will be filing a report about his conduct." George said gravely.

"We're alone now, it's just Oz." He said with a grin and a wink. "Ok, I am going to grab Faith, Church and SG1, I want to go blow the weapon now. Once I return I'll lift the ban so you can send the translators through."

"Thank you Oz, I am sure O'Mally will be thrilled." George grinned.

* * *

O'Mally was more than thrilled when Church allowed him to use his body to set and detonate the explosives himself. Jack was a little bit put out though.

But Daniel soon rejoined SG16 to complete the translations and the rest of SG1 were on stand down.

Oz, Faith and Church were pre-occupied with trouble back in Sunnydale. The last monk of Dagon had arrived.

It wasn't really too hard for Buffy to track him down, he spent most of his time stalking Buffy. A little invisible tailing by Church and they were able to catch and confront him.

"You really screwed up." Buffy told the cowering man. "First you helped steal from Gaia, then you messed around with creating a souled human then you destroyed all realities except this one and now… you think you can walk around in that get up and not be noticed!" She ranted as she pointed out his monk's robes.

"Wh-what?" He asked in confusion.

"You are under arrest for crimes against the universe and the Creator." Oz said with a slight scowl. This man was one of the reasons Xander and the others were gone.

"I-I d-d-don't understand." He said beginning to feel fear.

"Obviously." Buffy said rolling her eyes.

"Why did you do it?" Oz asked.

"We had to! The Beast, she came for the key, we had to protect it, we knew the Slayer would do that."

"Why not just give it back to Gaia?" Faith asked.

"Gaia?" He asked.

"Wow, these guys really are stupid." Buffy said turning away in disgust.

"What is the Beast?" Oz asked trying to stay on track. He just wanted the necessary Intel and then he was shipping this guy off to the prison planet till Xander could decide what to do with him.

"A hell beast." He said in terror.

"From the actual hell, or from a hell like dimension?" Faith asked worriedly.

"Actual hell?" He asked again.

"I swear, this guy is dumb as post!" Buffy ranted. These guys had messed with her friends and made her a little sister and now she had a scared little girl to worry about. She was not a happy bunny.

"Oz, why don't we do this the easy way?" Church asked seeing Buffy about to blow a gasket and Faith about to hide under a couch. "Let's just ask Jack and Lantesh to interrogate him."

* * *

Jack was looking mighty pale as they sat with George and SG1 in the briefing room. Giles, Jenny, Graham, Joyce and Dawn were also there.

Oz was really wishing Xander was back about now.

"It's bad." Jack said seriously. "As far as this monk is concerned, The Beast, aka Glorificus, aka Glory is a hell goddess. Now, from what we can gather, she is not from Hell, but she might be the goddess of her dimension. Remember how Gaia explained it, other dimensions have other gods?"

"In other words, this is way out of our league." Faith said with real fear.

"Which is why you will call me if you encounter her." Xander said as he appeared in the room looking very tired and worn.

"Oh thank god." Giles said as the others offered similar sentiments.

"Sorry guys, I can't stay long, I'm still recovering. I just came to let you know that I am aware of the situation, we know who we are dealing with but you will have to handle most of it on your own. Just call me if you encounter her and don't try and take her on yourselves."

"How are the others?" Oz asked.

"We're getting there, it's like a big hole in our hearts. Something is missing. All of Heaven is in an uproar. The Fallen have been cast into Hell and stripped of their remaining powers, all of their responsibilities and holdings are now mine and Gaia's. Which is part of why we are away for so long. The fight with the Fallen took minutes by your time, but time does not run the same in some of the other dimensions." He said sadly. "Oh, Willow says she misses you and should be back soon." He told Graham.

"I'll still be here." He said quietly.

Xander gave him a nod of understanding.

"Ok, I'm heading back, just remember what I said. Oz, keep up the good work, all of you."

"Xander!" Dawn said standing suddenly. "I-I-I'm sorry about… you know… everything?" She said on the verge of tears.

Xander moved to envelop her in a hug. "None of this is your fault Dawnie. You are as much a victim as the destroyed realities." He told her. "Once we get back and this Hell Beast is dealt with, then we will start making real memories together, ok?" He said with a soft smile.

Dawn gave a watery smile.

* * *

It was only a few weeks later that the Asgard followed up with another delivery. A new body for Lantesh. They wanted to see if the Tok'ra could make use of the same style of bodies as Church and Cortana.

"We decided to model the body after Martouf." Thor explained. "But with enough variations to make it unique."

"It is wonderful." Lantesh said smiling as he examined his new body with obvious joy. "Although it is a little strange with no one up here to talk to." He grinned wryly tapping his temple.

"Due to the fact that the body was made the same as Church and Cortana's we have provided a set of Spartan armour. But I must stress that this armour is encoded only to Lantesh's Symbiote DNA." Thor warned. "We are well aware of the friendship and trust between you and Lord Xander and felt he would approve, we approached Lord Oz for confirmation." He said nodding to the quiet man smiling softly in the corner.

"So we have an extra Spartan on hand?" Jack asked rhetorically. "Sweet."

"I would appreciate it if you could store my armour with Church and Cortana's, I would not want it to be examined without permission." Lantesh asked General Hammond. "I will also require training as I have never used it before." He directed his question to Oz.


	39. Chapter 39

Rumours of movement in the demon communities reached the Scoobies, and it was not good. Nobody was talking for fear of their lives. Nobody doubted that Glory had arrived.

Their first inclination of trouble was when Initiative soldiers reported a huge snake travelling out of town. A Pelican was dispatched with Faith onboard to eliminate it. Fortunately it didn't get more than a hundred miles before it became a burnt smear on the tarmac as she blasted it with the Spartan Laser.

"God I love my job." Faith shouted back to the pilots gleefully. The pilots just laughed at the exuberant young woman.

The second sign of Glory being in Sunnydale was the sudden rash of mental problems that seemed to suddenly strike random citizens. A team of Initiative and SG personnel were dispatched to Sunnydale, some patients were transported to offworld facilities where Xander's teams of scientists could try and help them.

So far, no one could state that they had personally seen Glory.

SG1 along with Faith and Church ran a few survey missions over the next few weeks. Unfortunately they ran into some Jaffa trouble on their third mission. On their return Jack was conspicuously absent.

"Sir, receiving IDC. It's SG1." Walter reported.

"Open the iris." General Hammond ordered.

Seconds later SG1 along with Faith and Church came tumbling through followed by a spray of dirt.

"Close the iris!" Sam shouted.

"_That_ was not a routine survey." Church grumbled as he picked himself up off the deck. "New rule. I am not going off world without my Spartan armour."

In order to not spook the natives, Church went with the standard ODST armour that all SG teams wore.

"Report Major." Hammond ordered ignoring Church.

"We were attacked by several Jaffa. Lieutenant Tyler went down covering our six. Colonel O'Neill went back for him."

"Let us assemble a rescue team and return to the planet immediately General Hammond." Teal'c requested calmly, but the desperation was clear.

"Hold on, who's Lieutenant Tyler?" George asked.

"I'd like to know that one too." Church asked bewildered.

"What do you mean, who's Lieutenant Tyler? He's a member of SG1!" Daniel said agitatedly. He didn't like the idea of leaving them behind.

"Since when?" Church asked.

"Since we started here, you don't remember?" Faith asked getting worried.

"No, because I've never met the guy… it's a he right?"

"Yes and you have." Sam said getting annoyed. "Church we really don't have time for your jokes right now. Jack and Tyler are in trouble."

"Seriously guys, I don't know a Tyler, all I know is we got separated from Jack and came through to get reinforcements… or Oz."

"That's enough. Get to the infirmary, all of you. That's an order." George said firmly.

"Sir, with all due respect we need to go back for Jack and Tyler!" Daniel said.

"I can't authorise that, clearly you have all been compromised… except possibly Church. I can't risk further compromise." George said sadly. "I'll put the call in to Lord Oz now. At the very least we can have him send a ship."

* * *

Oz, Church and George were assembled in the briefing room discussing the situation, Oz had already requested Sayel send a ship to clear what they could from orbit.

"So far our best choice is Church. He seems unaffected by whatever caused this. I can't go as even Faith was affected." Oz said. "Which tells us its not mystical, she would be immune to that."

"I really don't like the idea of sending Church in alone." George said.

"How about I take a cargo ship to the surface. Link up with Jack and at least offer some form of communication and defence. Better than leaving him out there alone. I wouldn't have to have contact. I could confine him to the cargo hold." Church suggested.

"We need to do something." Oz pointed out.

"Actually, you need to do nothing." Simmons said as he practically sauntered into the room with a superior smirk on his face. "This is occurring on neutral territory. Furthermore, the remaining members of SG1 are here at the SGC ground base. US territory. They are to be held pending an investigation."

"No, they're not." Oz said slowly.

"Oh, but they are. I have orders from the Joint Chiefs." He said slapping his orders on the table.

"He really hasn't done his homework has he?" Oz asked George rhetorically.

"You have no rights in this matter." Simmons said smugly.

"First of all, SG1 are members of an international organisation. They are under the direct command of Lord Xander. Second, they have diplomatic immunity. Third, just by placing those orders on the table… you have committed what could be considered an act of war." Oz said counting off on his fingers.

"Wow, the President is gonna be pissed." Church muttered.

"That's were you are wrong. The diplomatic immunity has been revoked. They are now considered Prisoners of War." Simmons said grinning like the cat that caught the canary.

"On whose orders?" George demanded.

"The Joint Chiefs and the State Department."

"But not the President." Church said stating the unstated.

"Well, I feel I should make some phone calls." George said rising.

"Make all the phone calls you like. My orders stand and they are to be removed to secure holding immediately."

"What branch do you work for?" Oz asked with a curious look on his face.

"Classified."

"Who is your superior officer?"

"Classified."

"Do you have any means by which we can authenticate your identity and authority?" Oz asked.

Simmons did an admirable impression of a fish.

"I thought so. General Hammond, we have no idea as to the identity of this man or the voracity of his claims. I recommend putting him in holding until answers come to light." Oz said.

Church was smirking away at this point. The fun part about working with Oz and Xander was watching them talk their way through just about anything. Or fight in Xander's case.

George on the other hand was taken aback by this suggestion. Such an act never occurred to him.

"But what about the orders?" He asked.

"You would trust orders delivered by someone who can't prove himself?"

"Airman!" George called out. Sure enough the door opened to reveal the guard from outside. "Disarm and escort Colonel Simmons to holding until further notice."

"Congratulations General, you just ended your career." Simmons sneered.

The three men just watched as he was dragged away.

"Why do they always think they have any say in George's future?" Church asked with a slight chuckle.

"Beats me, it would take an order from the Almighty herself to remove George from authority." Oz snorted in disgust.

"Thank you for your support gentlemen, but we still need to deal with Jack and this Tyler situation." He said frowning.

"Times like this I wish Xander was back." Church groaned.

"Ask and you shall receive!" Xander grinned as he appeared in the room.

"Are you back properly this time?" Church asked warily.

"Yep, I am ready to roll. The others are back in Sunnydale, catching up with the gang, but I heard you talking about me." Xander said as he sat at the table. "So, what's up?"

"Jack's stuck in hostile territory, SG1 has been compromised into believing false memories… the usual." Oz rattled off calmly.

"Ok… first things first, I'll go get Jack and drop him off in the infirmary." Xander said. "Then we'll get back to the Tyler issue."

* * *

"Hi Jack, what ya doin'?" Xander asked cheekily as he appeared next to the edgy soldier.

"Xander!" He hissed annoyance. "What are you doing here?"

"Just getting SG1 another notch on the rescue board." He said airily.

"Any chance you can get me and Tyler out of here?" He asked.

"Who's Tyler?"

"New guy on the team, started about a month ago."

"Who authorised that?" He asked confused, more to the point for Xander was why Oz, Church or George hadn't mentioned him.

"You did of course."

Xander sighed. Jack wasn't lying, which couldn't be good. Maybe this was the memory thing Oz mentioned.

"Take me to him and let's sort this out."

A short amount of scurrying and running and they were back at their temporary refuge.

"Xander, this is Lieutenant Tyler, Tyler, Xander." Jack said. "He's gonna get us out of here."

"Nice to meet you sir." Tyler said shifting awkwardly.

Xander just frowned at the guy. "Ok, who and what are you?"

"Sir?"

"Xander?"

"I don't know what you did to Jack, but you can't affect me. I can see your true form. So… who and what are you?" Xander asked again.

"Xander, can't this wait till we get back to base? He's injured." Jack protested.

"He _was_ injured, I can see that. But you can't see what I can see. I need to know his intentions." Xander said.

"I was running from the Jaffa, they hunt my species because of our ability to hide in plain sight like I did with Colonel O'Neill. I meant no harm, I was merely attempting to escape the Goa'uld."

"Can you undo whatever it is you did to Jack?" Xander asked.

Tyler leaned forward and touched Jack's temple.

"Whoa!" Jack said as he finally saw the brown grey alien with a skull like face. "I gotta ask, is your race part demonic?"

"Demonic?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah, but he's very light grey. They probably don't even know their true origins." Xander said crossing his arms. "Ok Jack?"

"Yeah, but I still can't remember the truth about the past month without… 'Tyler'." He said rubbing his head.

"I am sorry, I am unable to reverse that part of the process." Tyler said apologetically.

"I'm guessing this is gonna be the same for the rest of my team?" Jack asked.

Tyler nodded.

"Ok, they are waiting for us in the infirmary. I'll take you with us, but behave. And no more infecting people. Just be… yourself. And that wasn't supposed to sound like a motivational speech." Xander sighed.

* * *

SG1 with Faith and Church were seated on the edges of the infirmary beds waiting for the return of Jack, Tyler and Xander. All worry had gone once Church and Oz had reported that Xander had returned and was on the case. Oz had returned to LA as he was no longer needed at the SGC.

As soon as the three appeared Faith pounced on Xander hugging him.

"Can you please stop vanishing for so long!" She asked as she buried her head in his shoulder.

Xander smiled and hugged her back. "Aw, come on. I've been watching you guys. You've done fine without me."

"It is not your skills as a warrior and leader we miss, but your friendship and companionship." Teal'c said with a bow and a smile.

Xander released Faith who reluctantly let go as he hugged the rest of the team.

"Trust me when I say it was worse for me. We've been gone about three thousand years by our time. We had a lot to do, cleaning up the various connections between this reality and the missing ones. Gaia and the girls had the hardest time. They could feel the loss physically."

"So your like, five thousand years old now?" Church asked.

"About that." Xander nodded.

"Can we deal with this situation first?" Janet asked pointing to Tyler who appeared to be a young black man.

"Yeah, if he's not Tyler, who is he and where is Tyler?" Faith asked.

"There was no Tyler." Tyler said. "My species can hide and disguise ourselves by changing our appearance and altering memories so we appear to have been around for a while."

Faith gasped. "Dawnie!"

"No!" Xander said firmly. "This is nothing like Dawn."

"I cannot reverse the memories but I can allow you to see my true self."

The team looked questioningly at Xander who just nodded.

Tyler stepped forward and touched each of their temples in turn.

"Whoa." Faith said. "Demon?"

"Yes, but good, and they don't realise." Xander confirmed.

"How come I couldn't see your form but you didn't touch me?" Church asked.

"Touching them was merely to release the familiarity they had to me. They now know that I am not this Tyler. My human form was from a form of projection."

"So what now?" Faith asked.

"We debrief and then send Tyler home. He wasn't being malicious, he was doing what people like Jack and Sam are trained to do. Survive." Xander said.

"Aren't I trained to survive?" Faith asked frowning.

"No, you and Teal'c are trained to fight."

"Actually, Master Bra'tac trained me to survive also." Teal'c corrected.

"Well, I would be most grateful if you could pass on some of that knowledge to Faith whilst she is on the team." Xander requested with a smile.

Teal'c gave a small smile and a bow.

Simmons, having refused even a Presidential order to state who his superiors were, was subjected to the Lantesh interrogation technique. As a result the entire NID was shut down and disbanded. Each member was placed on terrorist watch lists. Simmons and his superiors were carted off to Xander's prison planet.

Subsequent interrogations lead to a cascade effect which revealed a substantial section of the Trust. As much as they tried to keep each cell autonomous and isolated, they all had a link back to leaders. Lantesh was able to provide plenty of information for Delta to track them down. All over the world various business leaders vanished. Xander's prison planet had a sudden population boost.

* * *

Buffy and Oz arrived at Xander, Gaia and Tara's house early, they were going to celebrate the return of the four Scoobs. They wanted to help Tara set up the snacks. With all the outrageous and fanciful things they dealt with every day, the mundane little things like food preparation was a joy in itself.

Each of the Scoobies had keys to each other's places and an open house policy between them.

When Buffy opened the door they were shocked to see a terrified Tara backed into a corner by a tall thin man flanked by a boy and girl about their age.

"Get away from her!" Buffy growled jumping between them to defend Tara.

"This is none of your business, leave!" The man said.

"This is not your house… you leave!" Buffy countered indignantly.

Of course this revelation caused the man to flounder slightly.

"Very well, Tara, come with us. Now!" He ordered harshly.

It was obvious to everyone in the room that Tara had no desire to go with them.

"Tara stays with us." Oz said quietly having placed the food he carried out of the way. "What business are you talking about?" He asked.

"Family business." The girl said snootily.

"Well… she's our family so it's our business too!" Buffy declared.

"I don't have time to argue your stupid notions. Tara comes with us and that is final." The man said.

"No, she really doesn't." Xander said as he emerged from the kitchen where he had appeared with Gaia. Both were frowning. Gaia went over to comfort Tara.

"This is none of your business. Tara is ours. And you can't stop us." The boy challenged.

Buffy snorted, the kid clearly had no idea who they were.

"Gaia, do you know why they are here?" Xander asked his wife, knowing she might be able to get more info as a god.

Gaia frowned as she thought, it turned to disgust as she realised why they are here.

"They are Tara's father, brother and cousin. They have convinced the women of Tara's direct line that they are part demon and that they will harm others if they are allowed in the world. They are made to serve the men."

"I'm guessing the demon thing is a bunch of crap?" Buffy asked.

"They have no connection with the supernatural at all other than Tara and her mother being witches." Gaia said.

"Tara is very dangerous. If she truly cares about her friends she will leave them to protect them." The girl said.

Xander sighed tiredly. "Tara is not a demon. We should know, we fight demons all the time."

"See, you've actually found people who will kill you when your true self emerges." The father said.

"Xander, show them why you know she's not a demon." Gaia said sweetly.

Unconsciously Buffy, Tara and Oz squinted knowing what was coming next.

Xander assumed his angelic form, wings and light.

"I am an Angel of God. A member of the Host of Heaven. Your daughter is a priestess. She has stood in the presence of the Almighty. Further slander against her will not be tolerated." Xander growled.

Unfortunately the sight of an angel telling them they had stepped in it big time had caused them to become frozen with fear.

"Oz, help me take them to the prison planet."

As Xander approached they fell to the floor covering their heads in fear. Seconds later they were gone.

"Why did Xander take them to the prison planet?" Buffy asked Gaia as they helped Tara to the couch.

"They are guilty of slavery. Xander can't have them tried here because his testimony won't work in the courts. But, because he knows the truth and there is no defence, he can sentence them himself. If they are lucky they might escape hell." God said as she appeared on the couch, somehow displacing Gaia from next to Tara.

Buffy however was staring stunned at God. "I can hear you." She said dumbly.

God nodded.

"I'm not dead." She added.

"You're not mortal either, or dosed with essence of demon." God returned.

"Wow." Buffy whispered.

Whilst Buffy tried to wrap herself around the new (to her) developments, God turned to Tara.

"Told you to trust them, didn't I?" She grinned as she nudged her in the side.

Tara couldn't help but grin back through wet eyes.

* * *

"Dude, did I get dosed with something or are you seeing this too?"

"No… unless we both got dosed." Riley confirmed what Forest was seeing.

Before them, riding along the road was a large company of men on horses dressed in chainmail armour.

"Does that count as supernatural?" Forest asked as they watched the departing backs of the soldiers.

"Every time you take a crap in this town it counts as supernatural." Riley snorted.

"Thanks man. Really needed that image."

"Whilst you too were jabbering on, at least I managed to get the whole thing recorded." Graham pointed out. "Did you notice the marks on their foreheads?"

"Yeah… that wasn't a mark of Xander's boys. Plus they definitely don't know the meaning of the phrase 'in-cognito'." Forest snarked.

"Well, they seem to be behaving, granted their packing steel, but they haven't done anything to warrant intervention on our part. Let's get this back to base, maybe the Council has something." Riley ordered as they left.

* * *

Everyone was gathered together. Hiding in the Summers' living room.

This tended to happen at least every two months, usually more. Just not always hiding.

But this time they were hiding.

"She's outside." Buffy whispered loudly as they all ducked behind furniture.

"With a guy." Xander muttered.

"Hush you." Gaia chided her husband.

They waited a minute or so.

"She does have her key doesn't she?" Joyce asked. "The door is unlocked?"

Most of the SG and Initiative personnel had Asgard activated force fields that prevented unrecognised individuals from entering without permission. So the Scoobies and SG1 left doors unlocked most of the time with an open house policy between friends.

"She's a little bit busy." Faith snickered as Xander growled quietly.

"What!" Jack exclaimed. Cassie was like his niece.

"Down Colonel, I really doubt their doing anything beyond kissing on the front porch, not with the light on." Janet warned the overprotective male, she was a little miffed herself at her daughter though.

There was a sudden flash of light and a thud, then the porch light went out.

Nothing was said as Jack, Janet and Xander rushed the door.

"I just kissed her!" The scared young man explained as he cradled Cassie's head.

"Jack take the boy inside whilst Janet and I see to Cassie." Xander ordered as he took the boyfriends place.

Jack, still slightly annoyed at this twerp putting the moves on his little Cassie, just grabbed the kid by the collar and dragged him in, slamming the door behind them.

"She safe to move?" Xander asked the worried mother as she strived to be professional.

"Best as I can tell." She said tersely.

"Grab on then." Xander said as he hefted Cassie into his arms.

* * *

SG1 was assembled with Faith, Church, Janet and George to discuss Cassie's little episode. She was currently in the infirmary having been poked and prodded and scanned by every medical society linked to the SGC. Tok'ra, Tollan, Salish Spirits, Asgard, Nox and others, not to mention a check by Tara and Willow.

"Doctor, what's the prognosis?" George asked.

"Evolution." Janet said simply.

"She's becoming an X-Man?" Church asked, earning him a slap on the shoulder from Faith.

"In his defence, I thought the same thing." Jack admitted sheepishly.

"Sam." Faith said.

"Sure." She responded as she slapped her husband's shoulder, eliciting a yelp.

"Children." George said wearily.

"It seems she was genetically altered in her childhood. She was designed to become a Hok'tur, according to Lantesh." Daniel offered.

"By whom?" Xander asked.

"Nirrti would be the obvious candidate." Sam offered.

"The Invisible Girl?" Xander asked.

"Wasn't that Sue Richards?" Church asked.

"He's talking about a Goa'uld we met who had the invisibility device we confiscated at the Protected Planets Conference." Sam corrected.

"So what's the plan?" Xander asked.

"None of our allies can correct the damage without knowing what changes are being made." Janet said with frustration.

"So we go to Cassie's homeworld and see if Nirrti left any notes lying about." Jack shrugged.

"We'll take Cassie in case we find a lab, she might remember some stuff too." Xander said.

"What do you mean?" George asked.

"She kept saying she had to go into the woods. Might be a pre-programmed set of behaviours." Xander said.

"We can't, Cassie can't go near the gate!" Sam said emphatically.

"Why would she need to?" Xander asked with a raised eyebrow, causing Sam to blush as she realised her mistaken assumption.

* * *

Xander and Cassie were standing in the SGC Ground Base teleporter room. Janet was fussing nervously over Cassie.

"Mom I'll be fine." Cassie moaned as Janet adjusted the straps.

Cassie was in basic ODST armour. It seemed an unnecessary risk to send people off world without basic protection. For the SGC, ODST armour was now the bare minimum. The only time it wasn't used was on Earth side missions.

"Janet, relax. First sign of trouble and she'll be back here with you." Xander assured her. "Plus Sayel himself is in orbit scanning the surface. He'll pull her onto his ship if he see's something."

Janet seemed slightly mollified at that. Sayel was a frequent visitor to the SGC and a good man much like Teal'c. Although he showed more emotion.

"If you don't follow Xander's orders you'll be grounded till your eighteen." Janet frowned. She then hugged her daughter tightly. "Please be safe." She whispered in her ear.

They were suddenly interrupted by the large doors opening and Lantesh approaching in Spartan armour with the helmet under his arm.

"I thought perhaps, Janet might appreciate extra help keeping Cassie safe." He grinned.

Janet gave him a thankful smile.

At that point the call came in from Jack that they were in place and safely away from the Stargate. They could arrive with Cassie.

Xander summoned his armour. "Grab on guys."

* * *

A few hours later George was surprised to hear his presence being requested on the Gate Ship at the holding cells. He just hoped there wasn't a bust up among the men, now and again tempers would flair between the differing nationalities.

"You're back." He noted as he saw the offworld team assembled outside one cell.

"Yep, found the snake head hiding in the bushes." Jack smirked bouncing on his heels.

"Will she help?" George asked as he saw Nirrti scowling inside the cell.

"She's demanding to be released in return for her help, sir." Sam explained.

Cassie was looking depressed, currently being held by Sam.

"You can't order her to do it, Lord Xander?" George asked.

"I wouldn't trust her to fight it and screw it up." Xander explained. "With your permission I have an idea."

"Of course."

"I will gladly help you if you release me." Nirrti smirked.

"George, could you get Janet here quickly?" He asked, ignoring the snakehead.

As George moved off to make the call Xander called for Oz over the comms. His arrival was instantaneous.

"Oz, this is Nirrti. She is responsible for screwing with Cassie's DNA." Oz growled at this pronouncement causing the Goa'uld to back up in her cell. "She refuses to help unless we agree to release her afterwards."

"And after Apophis, we don't deal with the enemy." Oz finished.

Xander nodded and looked at Cassie pointedly.

Oz looked at Xander with a raised eyebrow and a slight smile.

Cassie put two and two together and came up with…

"You're gonna make me a Hound?" She said excitedly.

"Only if your mother agrees." Xander said firmly.

"Erm, Lord Xander." Jack said, figuring formality might be needed for this in front of the snake. "Isn't she a little young to… sign up?"

Oz took this one. "God recently told me that I was supposed to be creating a pack. Or family. It will be a hard enough life watching most of my friends die of old age. But those that are worthy will be family."

Nirrti had no idea what they were talking about, but the girl seemed happy, as did the other females of the Taur'i.

"I said I would help if you released me." She said slightly panicked as she sensed her escape becoming less likely.

"Silence demon." Xander commanded. "You are a nuisance. First you will bear witness to her healing. Then you will die, knowing that you have orchestrated your own death."

"I still say he gets lessons from Giles." Faith muttered to Church.

"Can it Faith." Xander said rolling his eyes.

"At least he doesn't always talk like that." Church shrugged.

"You know we do have toilets in this place." Xander rounded on them. "You could spend the rest of the week cleaning them!"

Church snapped to attention. "Sir! Yes sir!" He barked out fearfully.

"Aw, Xander!" Faith whined.

Xander just grinned at them.

"Terrorising the troops Lord Xander?" George smirked as he and Janet walked up.

"Got to get my jollies some where." He shrugged unashamedly.

"I'm sure Gaia and Tara will be interested to hear that." Oz muttered.

Xander just mock glared at his friend.

"Xander, what's going on? General Hammond said she wouldn't help." Janet asked nervously as she hugged her daughter. She hadn't quite cottoned on to the fact that Cassie was grinning like a loon.

"We have a plan. Cassie is all for it. We just need your approval." Xander said. "Oz, you explain."

"I bite Cassie."

There was a moment of silence.

"Do you think you could make that any shorter?" Faith quipped.

Oz just shrugged and pointed at Cassie. "Hound."

"He's good." Church muttered.

"You want to make Cassie a Hound of God?" Janet asked worriedly.

"Yes. But she won't be a fighter. Just family. God said I was to build a pack. Packs have cubs after all." Oz said. "Care to be a pack mother?" He asked the doctor.

"You mean…?"

"Eventually I will offer the change to my friends and those who choose the fight. I can't change everyone, but I can change enough. Cassie will need a mother who understands what she is."

"Ok, will it affect me as an Air Force Officer?" She asked General Hammond.

"Unfortunately it will. We simply can not trust certain elements of our government not to claim some level of control over you." He sighed.

"The good news is you can always be the first Doctor in the UNSC." Xander shrugged. "You'd be stationed here. The only difference being you wear a different patch and no longer have the President of the United States as Commander in Chief."

"Who is our CiC?" Jack asked.

"Me." Xander grinned.

"Really?" Sam asked.

"Major, who else has the authority? The only other candidates would be Gaia or God. Oz has some possibilities, but only if appointed by either Gaia or God." George explained.

"Makes sense to me." Jack shrugged. Sam just stared at him. "That's my story and I'm sticking to it." Jack quipped.

"Ok, we accept." Janet said as her daughter started bouncing around.

"You do realise there is fair amount of training involved." Oz told the young girl.

"Training?" She asked forlornly.

"Whenever you are home alone or with people in the know, you must be in wolf form as much as possible. Both of you that is. You need to learn about that side of yourself."

"It's not so bad, he made me and Buffy do it." Faith added.

"You will both also need to train with Buffy and Faith. You must be able to defend yourselves, they will be your teachers."

"Won't they hurt us? They are substantially stro… never mind. What do we need to do?" Janet asked.

"Hold out your forearms." Oz instructed.

"Pay attention demon. Once they are done, your time will be up." Xander scowled at Nirrti.

Oz changed to his wolf form causing Nirrti to gasp. Oz took a moment to roar at the captive Goa'uld. A small puddle appeared beneath the cowering would-be god.

Oz padded over to the two Frasier women. He licked Cassie's arm and then lightly bit into it just enough to draw blood. Oz then licked the wound clean. He then proceeded to do the same to Janet.

"I thought you had to draw blood?" Janet asked as she inspected her arm for a wound.

"I did, you just heal quicker now." Oz shrugged as he reverted to human form.

"That's it? No pain, lights, sounds? Just bite and done?" Cassie asked pouting a little.

"We could always throw a party? It is her birthday after all." Faith suggested.

There was a sudden gasp as Oz, Faith, Janet and Cassie vanished.

"Apparently God is going to arrange the party." Xander grinned.

"They're with God?" Church asked.

"Yeah, she just wants to party a bit with those that can hear her. The rest of us will join them once I've dealt with this demon." He said turning to the cell.

The rest of the assembled stood back respectfully. They knew better than to object or interfere with one of Xander's sacred duties.

"Demon. Leave the body of the host." Xander commanded.

Xander sighed as the symbiote writhed on the floor and the host keeled over. Dead.

"Another host who was evil." He said sadly as he lowered the force field and stepped on the snake.


	40. Chapter 40

"Gentlemen, I'm afraid we are going to need to see your permit to carry those weapons." Riley declared as he, Forest and Graham stood in the path of the company of men on horseback in the middle of a suburban street, as usual, no one was watching.

All three were dressed in suits, with them was a Jaffa, also dressed in a suit.

"Permit?" The lead soldier asked.

"Yes, the forms that show you have permission to carry exposed weaponry. Just as we have forms that allow us to carry concealed weapons." Riley explained as he tapped his chest where his gun rested in its shoulder holster.

"Dante, what do you know of these… 'permits'." The leader asked.

A young black soldier trotted forward slightly on his horse. "Nothing General. We have never been stopped before."

"Well, lad? What say you to that?" The General challenge Riley.

"Just because you haven't been stopped before doesn't mean you didn't need them before. You need to be able to provide those documents to any officer of the law in request at anytime."

The General huffed. "I suppose what you say has some merit." He paused, clearly in thought. "Well, it would be unacceptable for us to be caught unaware like this, tell us boy, where might we obtain these 'permits'?"

By this point the four men that currently made up Riley's team were dancing happily inside. Outside, they were the pinnacle of professionalism.

* * *

"Captain, report." Colonel Masterson ordered as Riley stood at attention in front of his desk. To the side sat Oz.

"Sir, we approached the armed men and requested to see their permits as planned. Despite some confusion on their part, as they did not know about permits, they were fairly amicable and easily accepted our 'help' in acquiring the 'permits'.

"We were able to acquire all the information we set out too, sir."

"Really? Even the DNA?" Masterson asked in surprise.

"Sir, yes sir. Once we explained the legal and moral reasons they saw it as both reasonable and impressive, sir."

"Well done, Captain. I will let you get back to processing that information for the research teams to work on." Masterson said with a pleased expression. "Dismissed Captain."

"Sir, might I make a personal request, sir?" Riley asked tentatively.

"Go on." The colonel said warily.

"Whilst Sigma is a useful tool and ally, he is beginning to… blow my cover. I'm a TA, I work around a lot of young ladies… many of whom are… attractive. He's not quiet about what he likes." Riley said as he prayed his face was not as red as it felt.

Masterson was desperately trying not to laugh. "Ahem, Lord Oz? Anything you can do?"

"Have you tried ordering him to shutup?" Oz asked.

"Sir, I've tried asking, pleading, begging, threatening and even bargaining… my personal computer is now full of porn as a result." Clearly Riley was at the end of his tether.

"But have you tried giving him a direct command?" Oz pushed.

"I don't understand sir."

"Sigma, command: State the day."

"Tuesday." Came the slightly monotone yet still sleazy sounding voice.

"See? You just need to give him a direct command. These guys are smart and… well… you've seen Omega and Gamma, they can be pretty maniacal. They will try and work around anything that is not an order. But they have built in protocols that force them to respond to orders from specific people."

"So… Sigma, command: Around civilians you are to remain silent and invisible to them unless ordered otherwise. Confirm."

"Confirmed."

"Oh thank God!" Riley breathed. Then blushed at his outburst. "Sorry sirs." He said snapping to attention.

"Not a problem Captain. Carry on." Masterson smiled.

"So, Oz, what did you think?"

Unknown to anyone but Oz and Masterson, Oz had been present at the confrontation just in case of trouble, there had also been a cloaked Pelican hovering above with a squad of soldiers ready to jump in.

"Hard to say. They were reasonable about this, but until we can find out what they are doing here, it will be hard to say more." Oz said wearily. It had been a long few days.

* * *

SG1, Faith and Church stumbled down the gate ramp in a daze. They were clearly not quite with it.

"SG1, report!" George barked trying to snap them out of it.

"He's going to kill them. Wipe them out." Sam said, slightly pale.

"Wipe who out? The Aschen? Who is going to wipe out who?" He asked desperately trying to figure out what had his premiere team and two seasoned fighters in a daze.

"Lord Xander is going to wipe out the Aschen." Gaia said as she appeared in the gate room.

"Are they demonic?" George asked.

"No, they are quite human. They simply think nothing of performing genocide. Xander discovered this and came before myself and God and requested permission to eradicate them."

"When you say eradicate…?" George asked leadingly.

"Every man, woman and child. Any innocents will arrive in Hade's realm. This is not a decision made lightly, George. Xander is an angel over five thousand years old who came to The Almighty and myself for advice. The Aschen have wiped out several entire planets."

George sighed tiredly. He didn't like it, but he certainly wouldn't question it. He respected Xander far too much and he had the backing of two more highly respected beings.

"How long will he be gone?"

"Not long. He has connected a Stargate to the black hole and sent it into the Aschen's home planet's sun. He will wipe them out in an induced supernova. He should be back in a few hours."

"What should we do?"

"Give SG1 a couple of days off. Xander will be fine, but his team needs a day or so to accept that Xander is, himself, committing genocide. Try not to worry too much. This is something that Xander needs to do and that Earth need not worry about, consider it an act of God."

* * *

SG1 along with Faith and Church decided to take a few days off at the cabin that had been built on Tonane's home world. They just needed a few day to let it sink in, they assured Xander they would be fine.

A few days later the Tok'ra came forward with news on the System Lords.

"It seems that the System Lords are calling a meeting to deal with the loss of Apophis and others at the hands of Lord Xander. They have been fighting amongst themselves." Jacob informed them.

"They're fighting? And they didn't invite us?" Faith asked with a mock pout.

"_Were_ fighting. It appears that they are calling a cease to hostilities to discuss the establishment of a new order."

"That would take me off the leash, so to speak." Xander grinned rubbing his hands together in glee.

"How do you mean?" Jacob asked.

"Remember I promised I wouldn't go out of my way to attack the System Lords unless they wronged me first? If they change things from the current system, then they won't be 'System Lords', or at least not the version I gave my word to. I could take them out as I desire."

"That… means we might have to re-think our current plan." Jacob realised.

"You had a plan and you didn't invite us?" Jack said mimicking Faith, pout and all.

"I came here _to_ invite you Jack!" Jacob admonished.

"Oh, then you're forgiven."

"Moving swiftly on before Jacob kills his son-in-law, what was your plan?" Xander asked.

"We were going to use a poison to assassinate the lot of them."

Xander, Jack, Sam, Daniel and George all grimaced at that.

"What's the problem with that?" Faith asked, confused by their reactions.

"It would leave a power vacuum. Minor Goa'ulds would rush to claim the armies and territories for themselves." Teal'c explained.

"Still not seeing the bad." Faith argued. "The new Goa'ulds wouldn't be System Lords, and not the ones Xander made promises to. He would have free reign with them. Plus, with Jake's plan, you can be sure you got them all in one shot. Xander could claim the rest of the System Lords holdings in a few months."

Faith became pretty uncomfortable when they wouldn't stop staring at her.

"What!" She demanded finally.

"I think they are finally realising how smart you really are." Church muttered to his girlfriend.

"Always knew she was smart, it's like she's a cross between Oz and myself." Xander said somewhat awestruck.

"So… we go with Jacob's plan?" Jack asked.

"Probably a little more solid than waiting for them to off each other." Xander admitted.

"Well, the rules of this summit are that each member is allowed one human slave. Daniel speaks Goa'uld and can adapt to the customs." Jacob explained.

"What about Oz?" Xander asked.

"The person needs to be able to speak Goa'uld." Jacob reminded him.

"As a Champion Oz has the whole universal language deal. He'd be better as if any of them start using codes, he can understand them."

"I assume you plan to be in contact at all times?" Daniel asked.

"Of course."

"Then send Oz, I can coach him over a link." Daniel said.

"I can go too. Minus my body. I can keep an eye on him." Church said.

"I will also go and attempt to infiltrate the computer systems." Delta offered from his seat as he was now in his very own body. Unlike the other AI's, Delta opted for no human features, just a controllable Spartan Armour, much like Lopez.

"Sounds like you have a working plan with plenty of backup." George noted.

"I approve." Xander offered.

"Shouldn't we ask Oz?" Sam pointed out.

* * *

After some embarrassed feet shuffling, Xander headed off to talk to Oz. Oz was fine with the mission as long as Xander handled LA and the Scooby side of things. Everyone was worried about Glory turning up eventually. Jacob assured them that the mission would take two days tops.

The mission went fine, there was the revelation of some Goa'uld returning that caused Selmak to practically wet Jacob's pants. It was just at the crux, when Oz had the vial in hand and was about to release it in the summit room, that he slapped his head as he was struck with an epiphany.

"Demons, stand up." He commanded.

"_Oz, what are you doing?"_ Daniel asked over the comm.

"I just remembered I'm a Champion, a Holy Man like Xander was. I have power over the Goa'uld." Oz practically growled irritated with himself. "I don't have to kill the hosts."

"_Eh… good plan. What about the servants?"_ Daniel asked.

"I think they see me as an uber Goa'uld." Oz frowned as he noticed the human servants cowering on their knees. "You might want to come and give me a hand in here."

In short order the Goa'uld System Lords were removed from their hosts. With Jacob's help they were placed alive in a stasis unit. Oz or Xander would interrogate them later. With most of the Hosts alive, only three had died, this would make Xander's job of claiming the territories much easier.

* * *

Whilst Jacob, Daniel, Church, Delta and Oz carried out their assassination mission, the rest of SG1 and Faith were engaged in a fierce battle. Each was pitted against the rest and there could only be one winner.

Poker is a vicious sport.

The winner turned out to be Teal'c who had the perfect poker face. With Faith being below the legal age for gambling meant they played for snack foods, Faith was still miffed as she was starving.

Teal'c was happy to share them though as long as they indulged him in a marathon session of Star Wars.

Xander, meanwhile, had been receiving reports on possible sightings of Glory in Sunnydale. Nothing conclusive as nobody knew what she looked like. But some of the soldiers reported seeing a blonde woman ranting about a missing key. The fact that she snapped a lamppost over her knee also made them suspect.

Fortunately, Dawn was safely tucked up in Colorado Springs with her mother. Dawn never went back to Sunnydale, she was enrolled at local school with Cassie. Gaia and Tara often spent time with her, all three were permanent fixtures at the SGCCC.

* * *

Xander also paid a few visits to Liam and the crew in LA. Cordelia was not a happy person.

"Why did you have to send this… uber geek here?" She screeched as she gesticulated at the thin bespectacled man.

"He's a Watcher, Cordy. Knows lots of stuff about demons and the like. Giles manages Sunnydale and he's here to manage LA." Xander explained.

"He keeps trying to run the damn place!"

Doyle and Liam were sitting back in a corner trying to be inconspicuous. They knew better than to get between Cordy and Xander during an argument.

"Really?" He asked the cowering men.

"'Trying' would be the operative word." Doyle shrugged.

"He thinks like a book and expects the world to act the same." Liam added.

"Just because I follow the rules does not mean I am failing at my job!" The Watcher objected.

"Wes, when your plan nearly gets seven innocent people killed… not to mention my girlfriend… I think its safe to say you're failing." Doyle scowled. Doyle was still not pleased with that little adventure.

"Perhaps if you followed my orders yo-"

"Hold up! Why are you giving orders in the first place?" Xander asked.

"I _am_ the Watcher. It is my duty to lead. As you said, I was sent to manage LA." Wesley said pompously.

"Manage the info side of things, the research. Besides, what exactly makes you qualified to lead this bunch anyway?"

"I am a Watcher! Trained to handle and instruct a Slayer."

"And just how many Slayers have you dealt with?" Cordelia snarked.

"To date, none. Of course it would appear that I will never get that opportunity." Wesley said somewhat sadly.

"Wes… Liam is over 250 years old. He has been fighting since before this country was born. Cordelia has several years worth of combat experience. That doesn't even take into account the seasoned Jaffa that work with the gang. Stick to your strengths and remember you are the new guy." Xander said sternly.

* * *

With the System Lords gone, Xander had confronted each group of Jaffa separately. After much discussion with Gaia, the Scoobs, SG1 and their allies, it was agreed that Xander should claim the territories and armies rather than make an offer that they might refuse. The Jaffa would respect a show of strength.

Sayel, Teal'c and Lantesh all agreed that Xander should put together several teams of only Jaffa along with Tara, Oz and Willow to make his claims. Each team of Jaffa would remain behind with the newly claimed Jaffa to ensure a smooth transition.

Joyce and Sha're on hearing this plan, insisted that Gaia go as well. Apparently they wanted to use the three ladies as dress up dolls. Xander and Oz decided it had been too long since they had seen Tonane and bolted.

* * *

With the others having specific tasks, SG1 along with Faith and Church continued their trips of exploration through the gate. Usually they consisted of boredom as Sam or Daniel collected samples. The usual commentary from Jack was a sarcastic, "Look, trees, I never would have guessed." Church's response was more along the lines of a triumphant, "Hah! No computers!" Faith would take off in her wolf form to stretch her legs or spar with Teal'c.

On one trip they came across a ruined city. Faint energy readings led to the body of a young girl.

"I believe it's an android Jack." Sam said in awe.

"As in 'I, Robot'?" He asked.

"I've never seen anything so lifelike." Daniel muttered.

"Hey! Standing right here ya know." Church said indignantly.

"Church, you're primarily a biological." Sam said soothingly.

"Damn straight." Faith grinned, having turned 18 she had practically tied Church to the bed.

"I think its in a standby mode." Sam observed.

"The robot is sleeping?" Faith asked.

"Er, yes, I suppose it is." Sam admitted. "Sir, request permission to-"

"Denied!" Jack interrupted.

"But sir!"

"You are not either, a) taking that thing back to the SGC, or b) waking it up before it gets examined inside and out." Jack said firmly.

"But the only equipment suitable is at the SGC." Sam argued.

"Au contraire mon amie." Jack said as he grinned at his wife. "Colonel O'Neill to Stargate Command." Jack said over his comm. link.

"Stargate Command here, go ahead Colonel." Walter answered, as he appeared in a holographic image the size of Delta.

"Sergeant, we are officially requesting the science vessel Enterprise." Jack said still grinning away.

"Sir, they went with Prometheus." Walter said sighing.

"Dammit!" Jack growled as Faith and Church snickered nearby. "Fine we want Prometheus."

"Hammond here Colonel." George said as he took Walter's place. "I've issued the orders, what have you found?"

"Aside from the toasted city, Sam thinks we have a robot." Jack reported. "Wants to turn it on. I said no."

"You want the whole thing fully investigated before you do that. Ok, keep me posted, Hammond out." George said as he cut the connection.

"Since when do we have a science vessel?" Sam asked her husband with a raised eyebrow.

"Since we successfully created ships capable of intergalactic travel." Jack smirked. "This will be its maiden flight."

* * *

"Jack, why is there a flying saucer up there?" Daniel asked a few hours later as they stared at the huge craft settling into orbit.

"That is the Enterprise."

"Prometheus." Sam corrected.

"Not in my heart." He said causing Faith to snicker and Church add a heartfelt "Ditto."

"But why a saucer?" Daniel asked again. He suddenly got a suspicious look on his face. "They didn't let you design it, did they?"

"Daniel, if they did, do you really think I'd use a UFO as a basis?"

Sam just scoffed. "Not as you keep calling it the Enterprise. I'm surprised Teal'c isn't calling it the Millennium Falcon."

"I did suggest it, but like O'Neill, it was rejected." Teal'c said sadly.

"Still, waiting to hear the explanation as to why a UFO." Daniel pointed out.

"Xander designed it. It literally only has three levels. And that is mainly to accommodate the engines." Jack said. "It is tapered out to a razor edge. His theory was that as we always attack head on, the profile will make it tougher to hit us."

"What about if they hit from above or below?" Daniel asked.

"Then they get hit by every weapon on that side, not to mention we only needed to cover two sides with shields. We were able to use the energy saved on defence and funnel it into offence."

"And this is a science vessel?" Faith asked dubiously.

"Designated as a science vessel. Xander said we should only focus on one model of cruiser, each ship was to be multi-purpose, the last thing he wanted was a science ship with minimal weapons sent into an ambush."

"Just how many people are on that thing… and how big is it?" Daniel asked.

"A couple of thousand, it's got a diameter of about five miles. They are designed to be mobile cities as well. It's a UNSC vessel and so are the personnel."

"Don't know about you guys, but I'd like to see the inside." Church said quietly.

* * *

SG1 with Faith and Church were walking towards the bridge to meet with the ships captain. The ship resembled Asgard technology with a dash of Goa'uld. Every now and again they passed a ring transporter which Jack explained was a simpler method of moving between floors than using an elevator.

"Colonel Ronson, thanks for coming." Jack said as he greeted the ships commander on the bridge.

"A pleasure Colonel, I trust we won't be requiring a rescue this trip?" The Colonel grinned.

"Day's still young." Daniel muttered quietly, although everyone heard it.

"Major Carter, please make sure you perform most of your tests on the planets surface before requesting to beam the android up. This ship is my responsibility as are the people on board. That thing doesn't come on board until Colonel O'Neill and myself agree. Personally I'd prefer to also have Lord Xander's input." Ronson said formally.

"Wouldn't we all." Jack sighed.

"There are various scientists on board from various allies, feel free to involve them, you are the lead for this project though." Ronson said. "I'll leave you to your investigation."

* * *

Several hours later and Sam had called the team back to report.

"I can wake her up." She said. "It's in perfect working order, just needs more power."

"That's nice." Jack said with mild sarcasm. "Can you guarantee it's not dangerous? Does it at least have the alien equivalent of the three laws?"

"Wasn't that a film?" Faith asked Church.

"Yeah, but tell me they didn't make sense." Jack answered having overheard.

"True, another thing, what's her capabilities? How strong, can we shut her down remotely, how do we kill her?" Faith asked.

"Major?" Jack prompted, he was always quite proud of Faith when she spoke up, she was smart but lacked the confidence in her brains, usually overcompensating with her overt sexuality and brashness. Not that Church complained.

"Best we can tell it's as strong as Faith, we can't access the systems to determine anything beyond that. But it's just as destructible as a human."

"Ok people, recommendations?" Jack asked turning to the rest of SG1.

"I think we should try and turn her on." Daniel said. "She might know what happened to her planet."

"I'm not looking for votes on whether we turn it on Danny, I want ideas on how and what precautions." Jack corrected.

"Beam it to the planet, send the ship to the edge of the system, remove the Stargate as well." Faith said.

"And just leave it there?" Sam asked incredulously.

"I believe Faith intends to remove any access to escape off world as the rest of us remain to turn it on." Teal'c pointed out.

"Yeah, what he said." Faith frowned, this was why she tended to keep her mouth shut, she was often second guessed because of her nature and demeanour.

"Oh, that's actually far better than my plan." Sam admitted sheepishly.

"Let me guess, you were going to just turn the damned thing on and hope it all worked out?" Jack asked slightly sarcastic.

"Faith, when this mission is complete you and I are going on a tour of all high level science facilities that handle possible dangerous situations, you are going to make suggestions on how to ensure safety." Jack said firmly.

"Erm… I'm just the muscle in this op, Jack. I don't know about security and science." Faith said somewhat fearfully.

"I disagree Faith." Teal'c said smiling proudly. "I would personally appreciate being able to accompany you on your tours as I find you highly insightful."

"See, we keep telling you your good at this. Maybe when we finish our time with SG1 we should sit down with Giles and the gang and do the same thing." Church said.

"Good plan. Let's get back to our little friend here. Any more suggestions?" Jack asked clapping his hands and rubbing them.

"Call Lantesh in. Big back up in one person." Church suggested.

"True, anything else?"

There was a round of glances.

"Ok, Sam, prep for transport, take the bare minimum of what you need. Church, go contact the SGC and call for Lantesh. Faith your with me as we go brief Ronson." Jack ordered.

* * *

"Why is she breathing?" Church asked curiously as they watched the now powered android stir.

"It's designed to create a very realistic illusion of humanity." Sam explained.

"You might want to lose the 'it' and use 'she' then." Church warned.

"But it's just technology." Sam defended.

Everyone but Church took a step back with a worried look as Church just stared at Sam, even with his face hidden behind his Spartan helmet, you could tell he wasn't amused.

"I- erm- sorry?" She said desperately.

She was saved from her fate by the android suddenly sitting up.

"Where am I?" She asked fearfully.

"Same place you were when you went to sleep." Jack said offhandedly.

"Hi, I'm Daniel, this is Sam, Faith, Church, Lantesh, Teal'c and Jack." Daniel said trying to be friendly.

"My name is Reece. Where is my father?" She asked sounding and looking like a little lost girl and eyeing the two armoured Spartans warily.

"Uh, we're not sure. We were hoping you could tell us."

"Don't hurt me." She suddenly blurted.

"No ones going to hurt you kid." Jack said stepping forward. "Do you know why everything is destroyed? Why everyone vanished?"

"I was er… asleep." She said clearly holding back.

"Yes, we found you that way." Daniel agreed.

"My father knew there was danger. He told me to go to sleep. He said he would wake me when the danger went away."

"We're very sorry." Daniel said contritely.

"What do you want?" She asked a little suspiciously.

"Well, we want to understand." Daniel said. Jack and Faith rolled their eyes, sometimes he could be a real moron.

"Jeeze Danny, could you vague that up some more for her?" Faith asked sarcastically.

"Oh, erm, your planets, history-"

"How you work, your systems, functions." Sam interrupted eagerly.

"How can she sound so excited about making me seem as sophisticated as a rock?" Church muttered to Lantesh.

"Must be a gift." Lantesh returned smugly.

"I'm like you." Reece responded to Sam with a little worry.

"Actually-"

"Er, Sam… a word?" Daniel interrupts.

The group quickly huddle in a corner.

"I don't think she knows she's a robot." Daniel suggests.

"Oh, she knows. She also knows what happened to her people." Jack says confidently.

"She's clearly terrified Jack." Daniel argues.

"Indeed, but I believe that is because as O'Neill has said, she knows and is afraid we will find out." Teal'c backed up Jack.

There was a general agreement from Faith, Church and Lantesh.

"Sam?" Daniel asked.

"Sorry, I wasn't focusing on her… emotions." Sam said apologetically.

"Ok, we need a new game plan." Jack said.

"Yeah, cause I think she can hear us." Faith whispered.

They turned to see Reece edging off the table she had been on and trying to move away unseen.

"Damn it! Church get inside her." Jack ordered.

Reece screamed as a translucent wraith emerged from the large armoured creature and headed straight for her. It didn't last long as she keeled over and appeared catatonic.

A few seconds later and Church crawled out.

"She's in a standby mode again. I recommend having either Cortana or Delta take a look." Church said.

"Can you take a look around though and do some recon?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not going to touch anything, I refuse to be responsible for team killing." Church groused.

* * *

An hour later and the Thor was literally dancing a jig.

Jack couldn't believe the little guys were so nimble.

Church had reported that they now had full working schematics for the Replicators and details on how to control them and shut them down. They had called in Thor and given him the data… hence the dancing. The Asgard home galaxy would soon be free of the Replicator threat.

They had called Xander and Delta in so that Delta could add loyalty and protection routines to Reece's base programming. They had also turned down her strength. She would soon be reactivated and would be taught how to live. Just as soon as they could agree who to dump her on.

* * *

Xander, Gaia, Tara, Oz and Willow had managed to claim the realms of Lord Yu, Baal, Bastet and Kali, with a short break between Baal and Bastet to deal with Reece. They were now on route to the primary planet that had been part of Morrigan's realms.

Most of the previous armies had capitulated with just an order from Xander for Oz to order a Symbiote to leave the Jaffa. Those that were still stubborn were convinced when Xander revealed his angelic attributes. Some believed the word of the host.

They had been travelling in the Daedalus, the sister ship of the Prometheus. The ship had a perfect cloak so they were not challenged en route. They carried to each primary planet an Iris System and team of Jaffa set up by Sayel, they would stay behind to help set up the government.

They had convinced the Jaffa of Morrigan easily enough and Xander was appointing his First Prime and instructing them on how they were to live so as not to anger him. In other words, no abuse, torture or any of the bad stuff. Which was literally what he said as Willow handed them a more officially worded version on a Goa'uld tablet.

As they were finishing a Jaffa came running in stating that a raiding party was making another run on them and they appeared to be setting a bomb. Seconds later Xander had directions and was speeding through the air in a blur of light and wings to just outside the city. He found his new Jaffa lying dead on the floor, the intruders had lost several of their number and were setting a bomb. One of the intruders was very familiar.

"Bra'tac! What the hell are you doing?" Xander demanded as he landed. The other invaders dropped to the floor in fear covering their faces at the sight of the enraged heavenly being.

"Xander?" Bra'tac asked incredulously. "You consort with our enemies?" He demanded.

"I have just claimed these territories and Jaffa, they are under my protection. And from the looks of things you are about to commit mass murder." Xander said angrily.

"We are merely protecting ourselves by ensuring that Morrigan can not send his men after us." He said defiantly.

"Morrigan is dead. The Tau'ri and Tok'ra eliminated the System Lords about a month ago. Now explain why you feel the need to murder the young families that live in that city." Xander asked pointing to the walled city a mile away.

"It is war. The Jaffa must protect themselves if they are to survive." Bra'tac argued.

"There is not a Jaffa in the universe that is not welcome to my protection. There is no reason that any Jaffa who wishes to be free should need to kill babies!" Xander raged, as his light grew brighter.

Bra'tac had to shield his eyes. "We did what we felt was right, what Kytano says we must. He is our rightful leader, he is blessed."

Xander sighed and willed his light to fade but kept his wings. He looked at the cowering Jaffa. These people were fanatics. He was surprised at Bra'tac; he always seemed the sceptical type. Now he appeared to be following the orders of a murderer.

"On your feet Jaffa, you don't kneel before me. We'll be sure to let you know when you meet the one you should kneel before." He said reaching down and lifting the nearest one to his feet as Bra'tac did the same to another.

"Bra'tac, my wife is the Goddess of the Universe and I'm the Champion of the Universe, what makes you think this… Kytano… is blessed?" Xander asked tiredly.

"He has led the free Jaffa to many victories, he knows no fear! He rallies the people to his call."

"I can name lots of people like that. Doesn't make them blessed. Wait here, I want the others to come with us to see this Kytano. There is a team of allies helping sort things out so we shouldn't be missed." Xander said as he vanished.

"Master Bra'tac, who was that?" One of the young Jaffa asked.

"That my young friend was a true angel. His wife is a true goddess, not like the Goa'uld. She does not claim the universe because it is already hers. You will show them great respect when they come. Bow, but do not kneel." Bra'tac warned.

* * *

Rak'nor grinned happily as he saw Bra'tac and his warriors arrive through the Chapa'ai. But it turned to sadness when he noticed the missing warriors. And confusion at the three women in white robes behind them. They were each astoundingly beautiful, a dark haired woman, a red head and a blonde. Perhaps Bra'tac had brought them as spoils of war, but it was very unlike the old warrior who abhorred slavery. Especially as they seemed to be accompanied by two large wolves.

"Tek ma te, Master Bra'tac." He greeted. "Who are your friends?" He asked with out pause.

"They are allies, friends of the Tau'ri." Bra'tac said, though he seemed slightly uneasy. "They have come to meet with Kytano."

"Then they are most welcome!" Rak'nor said enthusiastically.

Bra'tac's return was met with more awe than jubilation. The sight of the three stunning women in fine robes captured the attention of the Jaffa. The wolves invoked some apprehension and fear.

"Tek ma te, Bra'tac." A tall Jaffa greeted them as he exited a tent.

"Tek ma te, Kytano. Allow me to introduce my friends and allies, Gaia, Willow and Tara." Bra'tac said.

"Greetings. Gaia? That name is familiar, I can not remember why." Kytano mused with a frown.

"You are probably more familiar with my husband Lord Xander." Gaia said sweetly. She could see the slimy snake around the man's spine but was bound from doing anything. She knew Oz and Xander would have already seen it and would reveal themselves as necessary.

Of course just speaking the name 'Lord Xander' caused ripples of gasp of awe and fear throughout the crowds, not to mention a very slight paling on Kytano, he quickly recovered though.

"So you are the one claiming to be the 'Goddess of the Universe'." Kytano sneered, he now had some leverage by playing the false god card. "You should know I killed the last being who claimed to be my god."

"I never claimed I was _your_ god, and killing Goa'uld really isn't that hard. The Tau'ri have done it, and so has my husband, numerous times." Gaia said.

"Then why have you come, if not to enslave us like you have the Jaffa of Apophis, Heru'ur and the others? Jaffa who could be free like us!" Kytano said loudly rallying the crowd.

"We came to meet the man who would order others to massacre women and children in their houses." She said calmly.

"We do what we must to survive. To protect ourselves. To remain free!" He said, again rallying the crowd.

"Even if it means you doom yourselves to death?" Willow asked incredulously.

"We can accept death, as long as we die free." He said seriously.

"You do realise you committed an act of war against Lord Xander, he will have a hard time stopping his Jaffa from wiping you out once they hear about this." She warned.

"As long as he aims to enslave us he is our enemy, as such we will not be allowing you to leave." Kytano said as he signalled his men. Suddenly there were several staff weapons pointed at the three women.

Bra'tac just sighed in defeat. Someone was going to die soon.

Everyone suddenly stopped as they heard growling noises coming from behind the three women. They stepped aside to reveal two very angry looking wolves.

"See! Even the wolves know they are evil." Kytano declared.

"Actually, that's my husband and Lord Oz, they are seriously pissed at you." Gaia said smiling falsely. Tara and Willow were giggling away, they were going to enjoy this.

There was a sudden burst of light as Lord Xander appeared with huge white feathered wings. Beside him stood an armoured warrior with a sword of light. They were standing in front of the ladies, Bra'tac and the Jaffa who accompanied him.

Almost as one the Jaffa fell to their knees.

"On your feet Jaffa! You don't bow to me, only to the Creator." Xander ordered angrily, he was really going to lay into Kytano, or whoever the snake was. He had threatened his wives and best friend.

Kytano however was aiming his staff weapon at the winged man. He fired bolt after bolt, but none seemed to affect him. They didn't even leave a smudge.

"Lord Oz, disarm him." Lord Xander ordered.

Oz stalked forward slowly as Kytano changed to fire at him. Normally the bolts would impede him and mark his armour, but this was originally Xander's armour, with all the original equipment. Oz had engaged the overshield and continued forward. Smoke from the impact billowed around him, obscuring him from view as he approached. There was a whizzing noise and the firing stopped.

The smoke began to clear revealing an unharmed Lord Oz with Kytano holding half a staff weapon.

There was a gasp of awe from the crowd.

"This is a Goa'uld in disguise." Xander said sternly as he strode forward, his wings tucked against his back. He reached Kytano and in one move ripped off the man's shirt revealing the smooth stomach with no Jaffa pouch.

The gasp from the crowd was now one of horror.

"Demon, tell these people who you are." Xander ordered.

"I am Imhotep." He said stiffly.

"Why did you gather these Jaffa?"

"So that I could conquer the System Lords and rule the galaxy."

"Lord Oz. Remove the snake from the man."

Oz stepped back from the Goa'uld so that the crowd could now see them both.

"Demon, leave the host." He ordered.

The host fell to his knees as the snake exploded from his mouth and into Oz's hand.

Tara quickly stepped forward and offered him some water from her bottle as Willow caused a bed of grass to grow for him to lie on.

Oz brandished the snake aloft and addressed the crowd. "This is what claims to be your god. This is what we do to them." He said as he squeezed, killing it instantly.

Oz flicked his hands a few times to clear the gunk off, Spartan armour was easy to clean, years of clearing off bits of Covenant had led to that innovation.

He turned to Bra'tac. "Master Bra'tac, these people are now without a leader. You are an honourable man, respected by Lord Xander and his friends. Would you take up the mantle of responsibility and keep them safe?" Oz asked.

Bra'tac was speechless. He was still trying to process the fact that Kytano had been a Goa'uld. But he was a wily warrior and quickly regained his wits.

"Lord Oz, I am an old man, perhaps it is more a position for someone a little younger, I believe my time on this world grows short." He said sadly.

"We know that Bra'tac, but you are still our choice, because of and in spite of these things." Xander said.

Bra'tac gave a small smile with a hint of sadness. He understood that they needed someone they could trust.

"Then I will accept this responsibility. For as long as I am able."

Xander and Oz shared a look.

Oz was suddenly replaced by the large wolf.

"A gift, to aid you." Xander said as Oz padded up to Bra'tac and nibbled on his finger.

"Ack!" Bra'tac cried as Oz broke the skin. He suddenly doubled over as his symbiote burst from his stomach. He knelt on the floor breathing heavily.

"Welcome to the pack." Oz said as he changed back.

Bra'tac sat up, still breathing heavily as he stared at the writhing snake. His hand went to his pouch, only to find it gone.

"You can no longer be possessed or carry a Goa'uld, Master Bra'tac. You are free. You will gradually grow younger over the following months. Until one day you reach your prime." Xander explained. "Sayel will be in contact shortly. He will teach you how to become the wolf and begin supplying your camp with- I have to go." He said abruptly as he finished.

"Some one must need him." Gaia shrugged.

Bra'tac just nodded dumbly as he absently rubbed his smooth skin. The crowd slowly gathered round him gasping in awe at the sight.


	41. Chapter 41

Someone did need him. Daniel was seated in the infirmary on a bed. His hands bandaged and his face had small welts and cuts. Sha're was crying in the corner as Sam and Joyce tried to comfort her but wouldn't let her approach him.

"Xander! Help him!" She cried as she noticed the still winged man appear.

Xander pulled her into a hug and approached Daniel, Janet, George and the rest of SG1.

"What happened?" He asked worriedly.

"The planet we were visiting was experimenting with naquada enhanced atomic weapons. One of their experiments went wrong and was about to go nuclear. Danny here decided to try and stop it with his bare hands." Jack said scowling.

"And you didn't call me because…?" He asked with a look that said 'are you nuts?'

"There was barely enough time for me to do it, let alone call you and explain what was going on." Daniel defended angrily. He knew he was on borrowed time. By tomorrow he expected to be greeting Hades in his realm.

"You have a point… maybe." Xander grudgingly conceded. "I take it you've exhausted all avenues?"

"We maybe slow, but we do learn. We contacted everyone in our inter-galactic Rolodex. Now we are left with you and God." Jack quipped, but he was struggling.

"Well, Oz was planning on making you four hounds once your next leave came up. I guess this woul-" Xander stopped as if he heard something. "I'll be right back." He said vanishing.

Of course Xander was only gone for a second.

"Right, apparently we have to let this happen. You'll understand why soon enough." He told Daniel. "Sha're I promise you he will be whole and well with you by tomorrow night."

He said pulling the distraught woman back into his arms. Sha're knew Xander well enough to know he didn't make false promises.

"Can we at least work on the pain?" Sam asked. Daniel was one of her best friends, like a brother, she was on the verge of breaking down.

"Sure, no problem with that. Call in the troops, have them do what they can, but he needs to be lucid and awake." Xander said with a shrug. "Right, I am off to see Bra'tac. Oz just wolfed him up and he is now the leader of a group of free Jaffa. Call me when… well, you'll see the big thing happen to Danny. Call me then." He grinned as he disappeared.

"So, five card draw?" Faith asked holding up a deck of cards.

* * *

"Seriously, a roadside diner?" Xander asked as he and Oz walked into the aforementioned eatery.

"They have pancakes." Oz pointed out.

Xander just stared at him.

"Xander, Oz!" Daniel said as he spotted them.

"Danny boy!" Xander said happily.

"Yes?" Oz replied.

"Quiet you."

"I've tried to come back but they keep stopping me and threatening to make me mortal again, I figured you'd be here soon enough." Daniel grinned.

"Daniel Jackson has chosen his path, now he must walk it." One of the waitresses said.

Oma was currently hiding behind the counter trying not to pee her ascended knickers.

"Right, and his path leads back home to his wife and family." Xander said. "Let's go."

"If Daniel Jackson leaves, we will be forced to take action against him." An elderly man said rising from behind one of the tables.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I heard you right." Xander said mockingly. "Did you just threaten a citizen of my domain? A friend of mine? A member of my family?"

"No, I-"

"Because considering who I am, I would have to consider that an act of war. And you don't really want to piss off an angel and his goddess… do you?"

"No, bu-"

"Good. Now then, Daniel has chosen his path. Lord Oz, what's your take on that?" Xander said blithely ignoring the increasingly flustered ascended beings around him.

"Assuming he did in fact choose his path, it means he knew where the path led. He has attempted to return to his wife, meaning he believed his path led there. Unless he was deceived about his choices."

"We are the Ascended. We do not interfere in the affairs of lower beings." The old man said angrily. "We have rules, we ALL must follow them."

"That is Daniel Jackson of Earth. He is an Ascended of my dimension. He has made a temporary visit to this dimension. Invited freely by one of your own." Xander said getting angry himself. "The question is not 'Is he allowed to go home?' But 'what will I do if you raise a finger against him?'" Xander said as he revealed his wings and light. "You chose to leave our dimension years ago. You have no rights there. You are no longer welcome there. If I find you have invaded or entered our territory again, I WILL declare war on you."

There was a sudden burst of flame as the Metatron and God appeared.

Xander, Oz and Daniel were on their knees instantly. The Ascended just gaped.

Xander and Oz noticed this.

"On your knees you disrespectful fools." Xander hissed.

Receiving no response Xander and Oz rose, Oz pulled Daniel with him and the three began pushing the so-called higher beings to their knees.

When they were done they resumed their own kneeling positions.

God was not happy.

"You arrogant little creatures." The Metatron spoke for her. "You would dare to encroach on the territories of my children? To play God? For millennium, I have watched as you interfered and directed as _you_ saw fit. Never once did you question yourselves, always believing you knew better because you were 'higher beings'." As the Metatron spoke, God stalked among the kneeling people. She had already lifted Xander, Oz and Daniel to their knees and they now stood by the Metatron.

"We are higher beings." The old man argued defiantly. But he was unable to rise.

"No, you are different beings. Humans are far higher than you. They learn quicker. They have compassion and love. Things you seem to have lost the ability to do. You have devolved."

"We have shed the shackles of mortality."

"You have sacrificed your souls." The Metatron countered.

This caused a gasp from Oz and Daniel.

But God turned and gave them a sad smile. "I am a compassionate God. I will give them the chance to redeem themselves." As the Metatron spoke Gaia, Willow and Tara appeared amongst them.

They quickly knelt when they saw The Almighty.

"Rise my children." The Metatron said as God smiled as she lifted the three to their feet. "Gaia, I have decided to give these lowly beings a chance to redeem themselves. I intend cast them to the mortal realms to live out natural lives. Would you accept them in your realm?"

"Of course My Lord. Will they require special attention?"

"No, they will learn to make their own way, they will live on a deserted planet. Have you anything further to say?" She asked through the Metatron as she turned to the frightened yet insolent beings.

"You can not do this!" The elderly man said half frightened half enraged.

"Oh, why not?"

"I- because… the Ori!" He finished triumphantly.

"If you are unable to defeat Lord Xander, what makes you think they will? Besides, Daniel will be the one responsible for the ascended for now on."

Before they could raise more protests they vanished to wherever She decided to send them.

"At last." God sighed using her own voice.

Daniel suddenly cringed, then realised he wasn't dead. "I can hear you?"

"Of course, you're ascended, immortal! Those losers just weren't worthy to hear my voice." She scoffed. "Now, don't worry too much about the whole 'responsible for the ascended thing', you are like Oz, he leads the Hounds, you lead the Ascended. Your first victim is Cordelia." She grinned.

Daniel had a horrified look. "That's cruel! Somehow I feel I'm the victim."

"To-ma-to, To-mah-to." She sing songed. "Go on, off with you all. Sha're is waiting and Oz has some people to bite."

* * *

Forest wasn't sure how he had wound up in this position, but here he was. Tied to a tree and being beaten by the same easy going soldiers he had only last week given lots of weapons permits.

"TELL ME WHAT I WANT TO KNOW!" Screamed the general.

"Dude, again… I can't tell you what I don't-" He was cut off by another fist to the gut.

"Do not try to fool me boy! I have seen your people following us, you are trying to keep us from our goal."

"I can't keep you from your goal… hell! I don't even know what your goal is!"

"Your act of ignorance is as pitiful as it is annoying." The general spat.

"That's me… always raising the bar." Forest snorted. They had been at this for what felt like hours, but judging by the fact that the sun was still at it's peak, it had probably only been an hour tops.

The general raised his arm to strike his face but found his arm immobile.

"If your excuse isn't good enough, I will remove your arm."

The general paled at the sound of the menacing voice. He slowly turned to find himself confronted by a large armoured being.

"What sort of demon are you?" He tried to maintain his bravado, but his voice still quavered.

"The misunderstood sort." The being said flatly. "Now… why are you beating this man?"

"It is none of your business demon. Be gone from here and my men will give you free pass."

The armoured figure tilted his head slightly as if evaluating the general.

"Your men have already been captured." The being stated before pulling a weapon and unleashing a bolt of blue lightning at the general, he collapsed in great pain.

Oz banished his armour as he let the general fall to the ground.

"Any particular reason you didn't call for help, Forest?" Oz asked as he drew his sword as a lightsaber and sliced through the ropes binding the soldier to the tree.

"I was hoping they might let slip what they were upto." He said as he doubled over.

Oz just sighed as he grabbed the man and the fallen general and teleported to the SGC teleportation room.

"Gentlemen, can you arrange for this one to be placed in a cell on ship whilst I escort Forest to the infirmary?"

"Sir, yes sir." One of the SF's responded as he headed for the nearest phone and two others came forward and grabbed the limp body of the general. Cuffs were quickly applied.

Oz vanished again with Forest only to appear in the infirmary.

"Janet, got a patient for you." Oz called out as he manhandled Forest into the nearest bed.

"Lieutenant? Is there a problem at the Initiative base?" Janet asked.

"Nah, Forest was trying to perform a unique method of interrogation by having the interrogate-ee beat on him whilst he was tied to a tree." Oz smirked. "Thought he might want to see some other methods we have available."

"That… that has to be one of the most hair-brained schemes I have ever heard of… was Colonel O'Neill involved?" She asked suspiciously.

"No, this was all him. I'm going to go and explain the situation to the General, let me know when he's cleared?"

"Of course Oz." Janet said with a roll of her eyes.

* * *

"It was not an attempt at being _'macho'_!"

Oz and George stopped just outside the doors to the infirmary as they heard Forest's indignant objection.

"As Lantesh and Martouf have proven, we Tok'ra can easily move between hosts for reasons such as interrogation and espionage. Then there is the fact that we have the Za'tarc detector and Lord Oz can detect lies."

Apparently Anise was the one he was arguing with.

"Well excuse me for not being able to think clearly! I'd just been kidnapped and was being beaten!"

"Of that, I am well aware having just spent the better part of the hour healing you!"

George and Oz decided to intervene.

"For which we are most grateful." Oz said smoothly.

"Lord Oz, General Hammond." Anise said with a respectful bow of her head.

"Just curious… you do realise that the pair of you were technically engaged in an intergalactic dispute?" Oz queried.

The pair of them paled considerably.

"And now that Lord Oz is done scaring everyone…" Hammond smirked.

Oz just shrugged. "Technically its true."

"And I thought Jack and Xander were bad enough." Hammond sighed. "Lieutenant Forest, would you care to join us for the interrogation? Lantesh is waiting."

"Will Forest be receiving a reprimand for his stupidity?" Anise scowled.

Oz and George shared a look. "I think you've done a fine job of that yourself. Come on Forest." Oz chuckled leaving an embarrassed Anise with her mouth hanging open.

Janet was considering asking about having Anise assigned to the Initiative base for a while just so she and Forest could bug each other. She'd have to discuss it with the ladies first.

* * *

Lantesh, Oz, Forest, George and Xander were seated in the briefing room. Lantesh had just finished interrogating the general that had been beating on Forest.

"Lord Xander, before I begin, can you confirm that Lieutenant Forest is cleared for _all_ current classified information?" Lantesh began.

"I'll vouch for him." Oz offered.

"Good enough for me." Xander shrugged.

"Very well. Let me start by saying that despite the fact that man is a soldier and was beating Forest, it was the most pleasant temporary blending since I joined with Jack O'Neill.

"He is a good man, but a bit of a fanatic. He is searching for The Key."

George sucked in a breath at that revelation.

"I must point out that he is not working for Glorificus, he actually wants to destroy The Key as he believes that to be the will of God. He has also been actively tracking Glory in order to try and kill her."

"Could I ask what this 'Key' is and I assume this 'Glory/Glorificus' is a person?" Forest asked.

Everyone else looked to Xander. "Think of The Key as the key to the front door of the Universe. The problem being that if used by anyone other than God or Gaia it will tear down all the barriers between dimensions. This includes ours, Hell and the Underworld."

"Hell on Earth." Forest whispered. All Initiative soldiers had been briefed on the Hellmouth and what it would truly mean for there to be Hell on Earth. "And… The Key is currently protected?"

"To an extent. It is being protected through anonymity. However, as you are now aware of the situation and existence of The Key, we may call upon you to aid in protecting it, if that happens you will be given all the information and you will understand the secrecy." Xander explained.

Forest considered this briefly.

"And Glory?"

"A fugitive goddess from a dimension with Hell like features. She is beyond even an Old One. She wants The Key to get back home." Xander scowled.

"A goddess? Like Gaia and… well, eventually you?" Forest asked worriedly.

Xander nodded.

"Son, this is why we didn't want the Initiative soldiers to engage her if you see her." George explained.

"But how did the man we captured-"

"Gregor." Lantesh supplied.

"-How did Gregor intend to fight her? And should we worry about them attacking Gaia?"

All of them smiled at the concern of the young lieutenant.

"This is why I vouched for him." Oz smirked.

"No, Gregor is simply a human who was going to apply the Buffy method of dealing with it… beating it till it died." Xander smirked.

"I've seen her work, you can't argue it's not effective." Forest countered with his own smirk.

"Are you saying that Gregor and his men are on a suicide mission?" George asked.

"That would be my assessment." Lantesh confirmed.

"Recommendations for Gregor and his men?" George asked.

"I believe that if Xander or, preferably Archangel Michael were to approach the men in Angelic form, they might be easier convinced that there are better ways. Their goals could be turned to fighting the demonic in general as opposed to focusing on the lost cause of Glory. They have a great deal of experience in Europe, Asia and Africa. They only came to the American continent in pursuit of Glory." Lantesh suggested.

"Can they be trained on our weapons and tactics, sir?" Forest asked.

"I believe so."

"Sounds like a plan to me. I will speak to Michael, see if he's able to help." Xander said.

* * *

The Initiative was gone.

All that was left were a few members who had not been on base at the time. Masterson, and Finn where both dead. Graham Miller and Forest Gates were the only surviving members, and that was only due to the fact that they had not been on base at the time as Graham was in Washington with Major Davis and Forrest had been overseeing the relocation of the Knights.

Security footage showed that a blonde woman had infiltrated the base with shear force. She kept demanding to be given 'her Key'. She had moved so fast that no one had a chance to call for Xander.

Glory had made her first move.

"Is Dawn safe?" Daniel asked as they all sat around the SGC briefing table. Around the room were the Scoobies and various allies of the Taur'I including Graham and Forrest who where both still struggling with the fact that their comrades were gone.

"She could be safer. We need to get her off world till this is over." Xander said sadly.

"I'm going through the Stargate?" Dawn asked excitedly.

"Nah Dawnie, we've got this huge catapult set up in my backyard." Jack grinned.

Dawn blew him a raspberry.

"Where can she go? The Asgard are the hardest to reach, but the Nox might be better suited to hide her." Lantesh mused.

"Actually, I might know a place far away, and if the Nox wouldn't mind sending someone, not to mention all our other allies sending a representative, then it will likely be the safest place in the galaxy." Daniel offered.

"Sounds interesting Danny, you been holding out on us?" Jack asked in mock stern-ness.

"Atlantis." Daniel said simply.

"The Lost City?" Sam asked excitedly.

"The Ancients became the Ascended. I happen to have their knowledge, they built Atlantis."

"And there is an abandoned city out there just waiting for us to claim it?" Jack asked sceptically.

"Well, it does need some power devices to bring it up to speed, plus there is the threat of the Wraith." He admitted.

"Wraith?" Faith asked. "Aren't those some sort of ghost?"

"In this case it's the name of a race of aliens that suck the life force out of you through their hands."

"Hard to kill?" Jacob asked.

"Same as a vamp or Goa'uld." Daniel shrugged.

"So we just need to power the city up and we have our first intergalactic day care centre." Jack quipped.

"Hey!" Dawn objected.

"I believe the Asgard can provide the necessary power modules. We have data on much of the Ancients technology." Thor offered.

"Right, so Thor whips up some batteries and then the Scoobs and SG1 will come with me to check out the city and get it running, once cleared Dawn can come with the allies.

"I'll come back here and try and deal with Glory." Xander summarised

"On your own?" George asked frowning, he was a recent addition to the pack, he was still getting used to his hair again… and receding waist line.

"Guys, she's well and truly out of your league. Technically she's out of my league. This will need to be a one on one fight. In fact, contact the President. Arrange a full and final evacuation of the town. I'm fed up of having to fight on the demons terms because we have to hide it from civilians." Xander said frustrated. Everyone could see this situation was really getting to him.

"You won't be fighting alone. I'll be there too." Gaia said.

"But I thought you weren't allowed to interfere?" Sam asked.

"I am this time because another god is invading my realm. I am also allowed to take direct action when the borders of my realms are threatened." She explained.

"Ok people, any other suggestions?" George asked.

* * *

The plan was simple, Daniel went to Atlantis by himself and then Xander and Oz teleported everyone else to his location.

"It's pretty dark in here." Buffy noted.

"Easily fixed, Daniel?" Xander grinned as he revealed his glow, Daniel took the hint and did the same.

"You guys must save tons on torch batteries." Faith remarked.

"There's the Stargate, the control room is up there along with offices." Daniel informed them.

"Ok, I'll take the Scoobs to investigate the city whilst you take SG1 to examine the control room and power this place up." Xander said.

"Xander, this city is huge. Miles huge." Daniel warned.

"Ah… ok, we'll just secure the immediate area then."

In short order the new Power Modules were in place. Jack got a bit irritated when they found out the city was submerged in an ocean and Daniel hadn't told them.

The entire team could operate Ancient technology as being either, angelic, ascended or Hounds of God gave them the ability. Only Daniel knew _how_ to actually operate the technology.

In order to assist them Delta had created a new offspring. Serena, based on an AI from before the majority of Spartans had been wiped out in the Halo universe. She also had something of a sarcastic dry wit. But she was very helpful and doted on her father and snarked with her big sister.

A few hours later and Atlantis was once again fully operational and lying on the surface of the ocean. It was a bright sunny day in the newly populated city.

Oz and the Scoobies suddenly appeared in the control room.

"Xander just vanished." Buffy reported seriously as they approached SG1. "We think he went back to the SGC in an emergency."

"Daniel, why don't you go check in with the General." Jack ordered. "Hopefully it's just a cat stuck up a tree." He muttered, though no one believed that.

Daniel returned after a few seconds.

"Everyone back to the SGC, the place has been attacked, it looks really bad." Daniel said frantically.

There were dead soldiers everywhere.

A few were alive and rambling incoherently.

The rest were clearly in pain.

"Damn." Oz said in shock. "Jack take the team and start deploying healing fields, I'm going to call in the allies." Oz said as he vanished.

It didn't take long for the allies to arrive, George was back on his feet by then and giving a report.

Glory had found the base and was intent on getting the Key.

"Nobody said anything, not that many people knew, but she started sticking her hand in peoples heads… it sucked the sanity out of them. She tried it with me but it didn't seem to work, must be a protection from being a Hound. The problem was that once they became insane they seemed to recognise Dawn as the Key. She destroyed everything she could before grabbing Dawn and storming off."

"So she has Dawn?" Buffy growled.

"I'm afraid so. I called for Xander as soon as I could, he should have her soon." He assured Buffy.


	42. Chapter 42

Xander found himself in Sunnydale atop a large hastily constructed tower. Dawn was two feet in front of him with a creepy old guy chuckling evilly at her. 'Glory must have had access to a teleporter or spell to get here so quick' he mused.

"Dawn you ok?" He asked worriedly.

Dawn twisted her head round and Xander saw that she was actually tied to the railings. "Xander! Help, he cut me, my blood-"

She didn't get to finish as a sudden cracking filled the air accompanied by lightning all originating from beneath Dawn by about ten feet.

The barrier between dimensions had been torn. He was too late.

"Soon our goddess will rule both her dimension and yours!" The old guy cackled.

Xander grabbed Dawn and vanished, he appeared in front of Oz with enough time to release Dawn and utter the order: "Dawn. Atlantis. Now!" And then he vanished.

The old man was shocked at this, especially as he suddenly had an angelic being in front of him dressed in strange armour with an even stranger sword.

Said sword was currently passing through his neck.

Xander leaned over the side of the railing as the demons head fell to the ground below. He managed to see Glory's blonde head. Just below him the inter-dimensional tear that would spell the end of his universe and possibly other universes was expanding steadily. He might have failed to stop the breach, but he could still try and end Glory. He leapt over the edge folding his wings back with a snap, propelling him forward with his sword pointed forward, straight at Glory's head.

Xander didn't just impact the unsuspecting Glory sending her spiralling across the ground, no; he kept going driving her ten feet into the ground.

Dust and dirt flew into the air and then rained back down on them. Xander quickly flew out of the crater not wanting to have to engage in grappling with what he assumed was a stronger opponent.

Just like with the Mayor he exploited his advantages, he took to the air.

Glory shook herself, she had no idea what had happened other than the fact that something very powerful had hit her. It took her several seconds to lever herself out of the floor of the crater she found herself in. Strength is one thing, but it's nothing without good leverage. She couldn't see though due to dust and debris scattered through the air.

Glory's demonic taint stood out to Xander through the dust like a beacon. He made a quick decision and decided not to allow her to recover. He dived again.

Glory was annoyed the first time she had found herself dazed at the bottom of the crater, the second time she was pissed. She was mere minutes away from being home and back to her full power. She couldn't even see her attacker, but she knew he'd make another run. She forced herself to brace for the impact knowing she wouldn't free herself in time.

Xander had returned to his launching point for a third run. He had no idea how to kill this thing. His sword wasn't affecting her at all. At his point his only option was to keep pounding at her till something gave.

He made another run, this time it was different, he could tell she had been waiting for him as the impact was more solid, unlike when he had caught her unawares. He returned to his launching point and didn't wait, launching himself as fast as he could.

But Glory was ready, she knew it was coming and at the point of impact she had grabbed the attacker using him to free herself slightly from the crater, she poised, waiting for his return.

She saw a flicker and swung her fist with all her might.

For one hundred odd metres all around the crater the dirt rushed back from the force of two impacts colliding. The result was a thirty-foot deep, one hundred foot wide crater. At opposite ends lay the two warriors.

Xander's chest plate and visor were cracked, one of his wings was broken. He felt like crap.

Glory was dazed and bruised, but mainly enraged. She caught sight of the broken figure across from her.

"A damned angel!" She growled as she pried herself off the floor. "A pitiful little angel thinks he can take on me! Glorificus!" She shouted as she stormed forward.

Xander heard her coming, he took a mental inventory and banished his armour and wings, they would only cause him problems. He could no longer fly at the moment, but he still had some tricks.

Xander struggled to his knees, his sword was surprisingly, still in his hand, although it was now in it's natural form of a broad sword. "Take a look Glory!" Xander called out as he pointed his sword at the portal. "This is as close as you get to your home, this is where you die." He spat.

Glory laughed derisively. "Don't you know anything little angel? Only a god can kill a god." She charged him and Xander raised his sword to block, only the impact never came.

Standing there between them was Gaia.

"Good job I'm here then." She said sweetly.

"Who the hell are you?" Glory demanded.

"Gaia, Goddess of this realm." She said as she pushed the hell goddess back several feet.

"Not for long sweetie." Glory said kipping to her feet. "Soon, I'll be home and you'll be without a realm."

The fight was engaged at speeds that only Xander or another angelic being could make out. To anyone else it was merely deathly mini tornado.

Hands and feet flew and impacted, each one sounding like a gunshot as the two supremely strong beings engaged in hand to hand.

But Xander could see that Gaia was outclassed. Glory had clearly earned her position in her dimension, she knew how to fight. Gaia knew only the basics, she was stronger but lacked the skills.

Gaia was forced to move to a defensive position, Xander knew it would be seconds before Glory broke through, He prepared himself in an offensive position.

The blow came, a kick from Glory to Gaia's solar plexus. She went flying back outside the crater.

Xander charged in as fast as his angelic legs would carry him relying on the element of surprise. But it was not enough as Glory aimed a lazy uppercut and he flew through the air to join his wife.

Xander shook off his daze only to see the dust and debris hanging motionless in the air.

"I've decided a time out was in order." A familiar voice said frowning.

Xander was on his knees in an instant.

"On your feet warrior." She said sternly.

Xander rose quickly and stood stiffly at attention. He saw Gaia lying motionless, he just hoped God had frozen her.

"Relax, it's just the two of us." She sighed.

"Is Gaia-"

"She's fine, for now." She assured him. "Glory is better though."

God took Xander by the elbow and led him to the edge of the crater. He could see Glory standing frozen in a combat ready position.

"This is not a fight a mere angel can win. And Gaia is far from skilled enough." God said sadly. She turned to look at the tear in the air. "And that will require more than just Gaia's power… or Hades."

"Hade's can help?" Xander asked hopefully. He knew the God of the Underworld could fight. He had trained Xander himself with the Angelic Host.

"Not with fighting Glory, but as the tear affects his realm, he can help close it. But it will take more than the two of them." She said giving him a meaningful look.

Xander's eyebrows shot up.

"There's a reason why the number three is so special at times." She chuckled.

Xander sighed in defeat. "It was always going to be now wasn't it?" He asked.

"Yes, but only I knew that, Gaia hadn't a clue." She chuckled.

"What about Tara? Was all that stuff about having children a… well… was it wrong?" He asked, not wanting to fling accusations of lying around the Almighty.

"Oh no!" She said a quickly assuring him. "Gaia was right about all that, but only if you weren't going to become a god for centuries. Tara is just what she is supposed to be. Your wife and High Priestess."

"Will Gaia and I still be able to stay with Tara here? On Earth." He asked worriedly.

God just laughed. "Xander! It's yours and Gaia's realm… you could sleep in the White house if you wanted. You can even go on missions with SG1, you just can't do anything. You can issue orders, give advice, the only limits are on using your godly powers to interfere. You'll understand the rules as the change happens."

"So I won't be an observer with no power like Gaia?"

"Gaia had no one on this realm to do things for her. That's why she chose you. You have chosen lot's of people. SG1, George, the Scoobies, your allies. You have spent the past few years putting things in order for people to take over for when you attain godhood. It's time for you to trust them."

"It's going to be weird not being able to fight again." Xander said as he examined his sword.

"Not fight? Xander, you have tickets to the front lines of the final battle, not to mention the fact that you can still defend this realm from other dimensions." She assured him. "Trust me, you won't be sitting back watching with a bucket of popcorn."

Xander perked up at that. He looked back down at his wife, and then at Glory. "Ok, god me up." He said shaking his shoulders and widening his stance.

"Done."

Xander just looked at her and pouted. "Where's your sense of showmanship?"

"I created the whole of existence… how much more showy do you want?" She asked petulantly with her hands on her hips.

"Point." Xander conceded. "Ok, lets get this show on the road."

God unfroze time and turned to heal and help Gaia up.

"Urgh, what hit me?" Gaia groaned.

"Glory. Xander's about to finish her off." She said with undisguised glee.

"But only a go- he did it?" She asked in awe.

"Please, like anyone other than me or him could handle this." She scoffed. "Now hush up and watch."

Glory was surprised to see the little angel walking confidently and purposefully up to her.

"Are you slow little angel? Only a god can kill me, and your prissy little excuse for a goddess couldn't kill a new born human." She mocked.

The angel kept walking, his sword was held loosely in his hand.

"Very well, I have a few more minutes before the tear completely devours this wretched little dust ba-"

She froze as the previously harmless sword was poking out her back, rammed to the hilt through her chest.

She felt her knees give way as she fell to the floor.

"No." She whispered harshly.

"Yes." Xander whispered back.

He withdrew his sword and in one swift stroke, removed Glory's head. A blinding flash of light and the body was gone.

* * *

The SGC was currently being staffed by specially trained Jaffa. The Asgard had several ships in orbit around Earth in case any foolish individuals decided to take advantage of the Taur'i in their weakened state, with the Replicator threat neutralised, they had resources to spare.

Two of their newest ships, The Champion and The Hound were heading up the fleet.

The medical bays of the ships were filled with SGC personnel recovering from wounds. The Tok'ra were assisting the diminutive Asgard with manoeuvring the substantially larger humans.

Unfortunately, even the Asgard were at a loss as to how to restore the sanity of the insane patients. They could find nothing physically wrong. They were waiting on Tara or Willow to offer some insight from a magical point of view.

But the calls came in an hour later. The sanity had returned to the patients. They knew who they were, where they were. It was a miracle. Which, as most of the SGC and their allies knew, was probably not far from the truth.

The SGC itself had removed all operations to the Gate Ship, the Mountain was under lock down and minimally staffed. The Scoobies and SG1 were with Dawn, Joyce, Sha're, Janet, Cassie and all the kids and Jaffa from the SGCCC at Atlantis.

George was monitoring things.

"General, our observers report that a bright flash just occurred. We have lost sight of Glory, but we still have eyes on Lord Xander." Major Davis reported.

"Any idea what caused the flash?"

"It looked like he was about to behead her, he had some how managed to impale Glory on his sword, despite failing to have an effect before."

"Very well, keep our eyes on the tear and Lord Xander. We can't help with Glory, but we can take our best shots at anything comes out of that tear." George ordered.

"Sir, we're now getting reports that Lord Hades has appeared and the tear is closing… apparently what appears to be a dragon has exited the tear and is causing damage." Walter interrupted.

"Launch the fighters and order them to fry anything that leaves the tear. Keep them off of the three gods."

Walter quickly relayed the orders.

"Sir, do you think this means we just lost Lord Xander as an active ally?" Davis asked worriedly.

"If your asking has he attained his godhood, Major, then yes. I believe your right." George grinned. "The Jaffa are going to be celebrating for a month this time."

"Won't this mean trouble for us, sir?" Davis asked, unsure as to why his commander was so happy.

"It just means that we have to use the gifts that Lord Xander has given us. He has put a lot of effort into setting things up so we mortals can handle whatever comes our way." He said sternly. "It's up to us to prove him right."

"Sir, yes sir." Davis said proudly.

"General, the tear has been closed and Lord Xander… is here." Walter finished as he saw Xander appear behind the General.

"Ding dong. The Witch is dead." He grinned as he bowed with a flourish.

There was a loud cheer as the Gate Room personnel released their pent up worries. They all knew they were minutes away from Hell on Earth.

"Spread the word to our allies and recall SG1 and the others." George ordered over the cheers.

* * *

The news of Glory's defeat was met with jumping and hugging and cheering. Especially from Dawn, Joyce and Buffy.

The news of Xander's new status as God of the Universe was met with a little sadness as they couldn't help but feel they would be losing Xander in some ways.

Willow however managed to completely derail everything with one question.

"Alright Mister. Explain this." She said lifting Tara's hand bearing a solid gold wedding ring. Much like the ones adorning Gaia and Xander's hands.

"It means we're married?" Xander grinned sheepishly.

"And just why weren't we invited?" She demanded.

Xander suddenly found himself on the receiving end of several feminine glares. The men meanwhile backed off fearfully whilst a certain brunette slayer snickered at the poor god.

"Tara, honey, little help?" Xander whined pitifully.

Tara just giggled. "There was no wedding. We wanted to wait so that the Jaffa could have a day to celebrate. We're married, we just haven't announced or celebrated it publicly yet."

"So you don't have anything planned yet?" Buffy asked with an unholy gleam in her eye, which was matched by the look in several of the other females in the room.

The men – and brunette slayer – were now actively shuffling to the door. They were saved by Gaia, who suddenly appeared.

"Get lost boys, we have work to do." She ordered.

Daniel, Xander and Oz just vanished.

The rest of the SGC would forever remember the sight of a pack of large wolves pelting down the hallways as if the Devil himself was after them.

The security footage was suddenly more valuable than Naquadria.

The End

* * *

**Author's Note:**

This is the end of this story... that being said I have been working on a sequel but it is stalled for a bit as I need to re-watch SG1 and I have never seen seasons 9 and 10 but I hope to continue this.

But this seemed like a good place to end The Champion.

Thank you to all of you who have been supportive, I am very happy that you have enjoyed this story.


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